Professional Documents
Culture Documents
INTERNAL - COMBUSTION
ENGINE
BY
INTRODUCTION
Until the advent of the Great War, most of the scientific talent
in this country which had interested itself in the development of
the internal-combustion engine was devoted to research upon, and
development of, the relatively heavy slow-speed stationary type,
a type which, it now appears, has but a limited scope, for in the
really large powers it can hardly compete with the modern steam
turbine, while in the smaller powers, its field is being narrowed daily
by the gradual spread of electricity.
Very soon after hostilities began, it became apparent that the
light mobile high-speed type of internal-combustion engine applied
to transport, aircraft, and later to tanks, was destined to play a
very important, if not decisive, part in the conduct of the War.
Every effort was then made to concentrate all the available
scientific talent on the development of the high-speed engine.
Independent scientists and investigators, and such national institu-
tions as the Royal Aircraft Establishment and the National
Physical Laboratory were requested to turn their attention to
this subject, and every facility was lavished on them. They were
invited to co-operate with the manufacturers and were asked to
make a careful theoretical study of both the mechanical and thermo-
dynamic problems involved, and to recommend how and in what
direction the general efficiency of these light engines might be main-
tained and improved. The campaign of intensive research which
resulted from this sudden influx of scientific talent, accompanied by
almost inexhaustible funds for research, has resulted in the produc-
tion of light high-speed engines which, besides giving what a few
years ago would have been considered an almost incredible power
(E 246) 1 2
2 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
output in relation to their size and weight, can show as high an
efficiency as that of the largest slow-speed type. What is perhaps
more important still, the basic principles, both mechanical and
thermo-dynamic, upon which the performance of such an engine
depends, have been investigated in so complete and comprehensive
a manner that the performance of any engine can now be gauged
with accuracy from a study of the design alone; or conversely,
an engine can be designed to fulfil any specific requirement as to
power output or efficiency, with the same precision as in the case
of a steam-engine.
That the internal-combustion engine has found its ultimate
sphere in the light mobile high-speed type is now evidenced by the
fact that, whereas in the years immediately before the War the
annual output in horse-power of both the light and heavy type in
this country was about equal, to-day the aggregate annual power
output of the light high-speed type is at least ten times that of all
other types, and in numbers probably nearer twenty times.
To-day far more is known about both the possibilities and the
limitations of the high-speed internal-combustion engine than was
the case before the War, and it seems fairly evident that its role lies
in the propulsion of all forms of transport where its light weight
and low fuel consumption render it supremely valuable. It is in the
author's opinion extremely doubtful whether it will ever attain to
more than its present very uncertain footing for stationary purposes,
where neither its own light weight nor that of the fuel it consumes
can be of much assistance to it in the struggle for existence.
Already, and in an incredibly short space of time, the internal-
combustion engine has gained practically undisputed sway over all
forms of road transport, and in doing so has developed and even
almost revolutionized this previously decaying system. In a few short
years it has both opened up the possibility of aerial transport and
made it a powerful factor, in war at all events; it will almost certainly
extend to rail transport also, beginning, no doubt, in countries where
long distances have to be traversed and where fuel and water are
scarce. It is already ousting the steam-engine from the smaller
classes of shipping and is extending very gradually to the larger
vessels, but here its progress will probably be slow, for the steam-
turbine shows to particular advantage as a marine engine, because
in this field alone it can always get that upon which its efficiency so
largely depends, namely, an unlimited supply of cold water. Also
the large steamship, alone of all forms of transport, requires a very
INTRODUCTION 3
the compression ratio and the point at which detonation occurs when
to pure heptane varying proportions of benzene (benzol) are added.
Owing to the influence of combustion-chamber design, and to other
factors which will be considered later, it is not possible to lay down
a hard and fast relation between the fuel and the highest com-
pression ratio at which it may be used in any type of engine, but
it is possible in the light of present knowledge to give relative values,
though there is some difficulty in selecting substances to be taken
as standards. In the investigations which the author's firm carried
10 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
out on behalf of the Asiatic Petroleum Co., a sample of petrol, con-
sisting mainly of paraffins from which nearly all the aromatics had
been removed by sulphonation, was taken as zero, and at the other
end of the scale pure toluene was chosen; the relative tendency of
different fuels to detonate was then expressed in terms of their
“ toluene value,” i.e. the equivalent proportion of toluene which it
would be necessary to mix with the standard aromatic free petrol
in order to give it the same tendency to detonate as that of the
sample under examination. Later investigation showed that the
standard “ aromatic free ” petrol which contained about 35 per cent
of naphthenes and the lighter members of the paraffin series, was by
no means the worst offender as regards detonation, and that in fact
several samples of commercial petrol were actually considerably
worse. Also it was found that toluene was not so effective in resist-
ing detonation as ethyl alcohol. Since, however, the expression
“ toluene value ” has become rather widely used, it is probably
better to retain the term.
Table I gives the toluene values and the highest useful compres-
sion for various fuels. The highest useful compression ratio may be
defined as the highest ratio at which a particularly efficient engine
used for the purpose of investigating the behaviour of fuels could
be operated without detonation at any mixture strength or with
any ignition timing, with a standard amount of preheating to the
carburettor, and at a speed of 1500 R.P.M.
It is therefore purely a relative term; that is to say, its absolute
value applies only to one particular type of engine operated under
one given set of conditions, but its relative value is applicable to
any type of engine and under any conditions, as will be shown later.
In this connection reference may be made to the common belief
that the rate of burning of the fuel, though one of the factors con-
trolling detonation, forms a limit to the speed at which an engine
can run.
The normal rate of burning (as distinct from the detonation
rate) of any stagnant fuel/air mixture is so low as to be practically
useless so far as any internal-combustion engine is concerned. We
must look, therefore, entirely to turbulence or the mechanical dis-
tribution of the flame to spread combustion throughout the whole
mass of the working fluid, and, since this is the case, it follows that
the normal rate of burning of any fuel is practically without influence
on the speed at which an engine will run.
It has been found that a fuel with a low normal rate of burning,
VOLATILE LIQUID FUEL 11
TABLE I
Highest Useful
Compression Ratio Toluene Value.
in variable Com- Toluene = 100 %,
Fuel. pression Engine. Aromatic Free
Total Volume Petrol = 0 %.
Clearance Volume
Heavy Fuels
Heavy Aromatics … … … 6·5 55·0
Kerosene … … … … 4·2 - 2 2 ·0
Paraffin Series
Pentane (Normal) … … … 5·85 33·0
Hexane (80 % pure) … … … 5·1 8·0
Heptane (97 % pure) … … 3·75 - 3 7 ·0
Aromatic Series
Benzene (pure) … … … 6·9 † 67·0
Toluene (99 % pure) … … … > 7 ·0 100·0
Xylene (91 % pure) … … … > 7 ·0 85·0
Naphthene Series
Cyclohexane (93 % pure) … … 5·9 † 35·0
Hexahydrotoluene (80 %) … … 5·8 31·5
Hexahydroxylene (60 %) … … 4·9 1·5
Qlefines
Cracked Spirit (53 % unsat.) … 5·55 23·5
NOTE.—This sign (†) indicates that pre-ignition occurred before audible detonation.
12 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
such, for example, as ethyl alcohol, will operate just as efficiently in
a high-speed, low-compression, engine as will hexane or petrol, and
that the relative efficiency and power obtained is exactly the same
throughout the whole speed range. The normal rate of burning of
a fuel has, therefore, no connection with the speed at which an
engine may be run.
In fact, since a slow-burning fuel is generally less prone to detona-
tion, it is much more desirable than one which burns more rapidly.
It is only when using excessively weak and therefore slow-
burning mixtures, or when the normal turbulence within the
cylinder is unduly low, that the influence of a naturally slow-
burning fuel can be felt at all, and, even so, this can always be
counteracted by a small advance of the ignition timing. Under
all normal working conditions the difference in respect to engine
speed between a normally slow or rapid burning volatile liquid fuel
is quite imperceptible.
Latent Heat.—The influence of the latent heat of evaporation
of the fuel is a very important factor, but one which is usually
ignored. This factor, coupled with the mean volatility, determines
the density of the charge taken into the cylinder. It is, of course,
clear that the weight of charge taken into the cylinder will, in any
given case, be inversely proportional to its absolute temperature at
the moment when the inlet valve closes. There is definite evidence
from experimental results that, with the exception of alcohol and
the other members of its group, all fuels boiling below about 400° F.
are completely evaporated before the commencement of the com-
pression stroke by contact with the hot walls and by admixture
with the highly heated residual exhaust products in the cylinder;
excepting only a very small proportion which may enter the cylinder
in coarse drops, and so not only escape evaporation, but, even to a
large extent, combustion also. This proportion is, however, quite
insignificant, and has no influence, in so far as power output is
concerned.
The absolute temperature at the commencement of the com-
pression stroke is dependent upon (a) the amount of external heat-
ing applied, and (b) the latent heat of evaporation. It is largely
independent of the temperature of the mixture during its entry to
the cylinder. In fact, the final absolute temperature, and, there-
fore, the weight of the charge taken into the cylinder, are dependent
upon the quantity and latent heat of the fuel, and upon the amount
of heat added to it, external to the cylinder,
VOLATILE LIQUID FUEL 13
Paraffin Series
Hexane … … … 156 48·33 100·2
Heptane … … 133 48·64 100·1
Octane … … … 128 48·73 100·0
Nonane … … … .. 48·78 ..
Decane … … … 108 48·82 99·4
Aromatic Series
Benzene … … 172 47·51 100·1
Toluene … … … 151 47·98 100·0
Xylene … … … 145 48·26 100·6
Naphthene Series
Cyclohexane … … 156 48·11 100·0
Hexahydrotoluene … 138 48·32 99·8
Hexahydroxylene … 133 48·49 99·8
14 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
Some calculations illustrating this point more fully will be found
in Chapter II.
The above conclusions may be summed up as follows:—
(1) The power output is inversely proportional to the absolute
temperature of the working fluid at the end of the suction stroke—
since it is the temperature at this point which controls the weight
of charge, and therefore the volumetric efficiency.
(2) Other things being equal, the final suction temperature is
controlled by the amount of external heating, on the one hand, and
the latent heat of the fuel, on the other; it is nearly independent of
the temperature of the entering charge and of its volatility.
Apart from the alcohol group, the variation in latent heat is not
very large, and does not exercise any important influence. It is
interesting to note, however, that in cases where the total internal
energy is lower, the latent heat is generally slightly higher; con-
sequently a slightly greater weight of charge is taken into the
cylinder, sufficient in most cases to compensate for the lower internal
energy, and thus bring the actual power output to substantially the
same in all cases.
This point is well illustrated by the instance of benzene, as will
be seen later, or by reference to Table II. The energy liberated by
the combustion of a cubic inch (at standard temperature and pres-
sure) of benzene-air mixture is appreciably lower than that of the
hydrocarbons forming the greater proportion of petrols. On the other
hand, the latent heat of benzene is considerably greater, and as a
result the power output obtainable under similar conditions from
benzene is the same as that from petrol to within less than one half
of 1 per cent.
The following Table III gives the latent heat of evaporation of
a number of hydrocarbons and other substances enumerated in the
previous tables. The air-to-fuel ratio by weight, also the drop in
temperature of the mixture due to evaporation of the liquid, are
shown for each fuel. The calculations are made for mixtures giving
complete combustion, but without excess of air.
In the case of alcohol, owing to the very much higher latent
heat and to the fact that the proportion of fuel to air is also much
greater, the latent heat of evaporation plays a supremely important
part, and results in a really marked increase in power as compared
with other fuels, although the total internal energy of unit mass of
mixture is lower than that of either petrol or benzol. Moreover,
there is introduced a feature which is not observed to any marked
VOLATILE LIQUID FUEL 15
TABLE III
Paraffin Series
Hexane 156 15·2 37·8
Heptane 133 15·1 32·4
Octane 128 15·05 29·0
Nonane .. 15·0 ..
Decane 108 15·0 20·1
Aromatic Series
Benzene 172 13·2 46·8
Toluene 151 13·4 40·5
Xylene 115 13·6 38·7
Naphthene Series
Cyclohexane 156 14·7 38·7
Hexahydrotoluene 138 14·7 34·2
Hexahydroxylene 133 14·7 32·4
Olefine Series
Heptylene 167(app.) 14·7 41·4
Decylene .. 14·7 ..
Alcoholic Group
Ethyl Alcohol 397 8·95 148·8
Methyl Alcohol 512 6·44 252·0
Miscellaneous
Ether 158 11·14 49·5
Carbon Disulph. 153 9·35 55·8
Acetylene Gas 13·2 ..
Carbon Monox. Gas 2·45 ..
Hydrogen Gas 34·3 ..
The last column is calculated on the assumption that the specific heat of the fuel vapour is
constant for all at 0·5.
TABLE IV
Heavy Fuels
Heavy Aromatics … … … + 50·5 35·7
Kerosene … … … … + 56 26·1
Paraffin Series
Pentane (Normal) … … … ... 37·8
Hexane (80 % pure) … … … 0 37·8
Heptane (97 % pure) … … + 10 32·4
Aromatic Series
Benzene (pure) … … … -13·1 46·8
Toluene (99 % pure)… … … + 14·4 40·5
Xylene (91 % pure) … … … + 32·4 38·7
Naphthene Series
Cyclohexane (93 % pure) … … -5·4 38·7
Hexahydrotoluene (80 %) … … + 5·4 34·2
Hexahydroxylene (60 %) … … + 24·3 32·4
Olefines
Cracked Spirit (53 % unsat.) … + 19 37·5
(E246 ) 3
18 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
multiplied and the length and surface of the induction system
increased, so does the importance of volatility increase. A rough
approximation (it is no more) of the relative volatility of different
fuels can be obtained by measuring the rise or fall of temperature
in the induction pipe of an engine, when a known weight of fuel and
air are passing into it and when the amount of heat supplied to the
carburettor can be recorded accurately.
The figures in Table IV (p. 17) give some clue as to the
relative volatility of the different fuels—all were tested under exactly
the same conditions as regards speed, temperature, heat input, &c.
The temperatures measured in the induction pipe and recorded in
the table are, in each instance, those found when the mixture strength.
was that giving complete combustion,
The last column gives the calculated drop in temperature as-
suming no heat input and that the whole of the fuel be evaporated
before entry to the cylinder.
Final Boiling Point.—It is always desirable to keep the final
boiling point of any fuel as low as possible, because the higher boiling
fractions are liable to condense on the cylinder walls and so to pass
down into the crankcase, where they foul the lubricating oil.
As a general rule, so long as the final boiling point does not
exceed say 400° F. no serious trouble need be feared on this score,
for, if any fuel does condense on the walls, it will evaporate off in
the crankcase, but in the case of kerosene and other high boiling
fuels condensation on the cylinder walls and in the crankcase is one
of the most serious difficulties with which designers of engines using
these fuels have to contend.
Starting.—The readiness of a fuel to start from cold depends
upon the proportion of low boiling-point fractions present in the
fuel.
With nearly all commercial petrols the full vapour pressure at
normal atmospheric temperature is only reached when at least 3 per
cent of the volume of the vessel is occupied with liquid.
In an actual engine, starting is required with a minimum of
about one-thirtieth of this, and even then the mixture strength
would be about nine times richer than the normal running mixture.
It follows, therefore, that unless a fuel has an abnormally high vapour
tension it is necessary always to provide a very large excess for
starting, e.g. by flooding or by the use of a special pilot jet, &c.,
as in the Zenith carburettor or by other means.
Calorific Value.—The heat liberated by the combination of the
VOLATILE LIQUID FUEL 19
fuel and air is usually determined by burning the fuel in some form
of calorimeter. The heat value so found includes the latent heat
of the water formed, because in any form of calorimeter the tem-
perature necessarily falls below the boiling point of water. Since,
however, it is quite out of the question in any internal-combustion
engine to make use of the latent heat of the water, it is customary
to deduct from the total heat liberated that due to the condensation
of the water formed. The heat value found after this deduction
has been made, is termed the lower calorific value of the fuel and
is generally accepted as the basis upon which to calculate the
thermal efficiency of an engine. In the case of internal-combustion
engines using volatile liquid fuels, such a value for the available
heat is not quite correct because, when a fuel is burnt in a bomb
or other calorimeter, some of the heat of combustion is devoted to
evaporating the remainder of the liquid fuel and is therefore
absorbed. Now when used in an engine the whole of the liquid is
evaporated before combustion takes place, and the heat required for
its evaporation is supplied by the waste heat from the cycle or by
the available heat already present in the air. In either case it is
supplied by heat other than the useful heat of combustion of the
fuel If, therefore, it be accepted as correct that the latent heat of
evaporation of the water formed should be deducted from the total
heat of combustion as determined by calorimetric measurement,
because this heat cannot be utilized, then it is equally right and
proper that the latent heat of evaporation of the liquid fuel itself
should be added to the observed calorimetric determination because
its equivalent value in the heat of combustion can be and is used
in any internal-combustion engine in which the fuel is evaporated
before combustion starts, i.e. in any but Diesel engines ; strictly
speaking, there should be added the latent heat at constant volume,
which is less than that at constant pressure by an amount equal to
the work done on the atmosphere if the liquid is evaporated when
unenclosed. In the following Table V is given the heat of combustion
of various fuels in terms of B.Th.U.s per lb. and per gallon, the first
two columns being the usually accepted lower calorific value and
the second the revised value corrected to include the latent heat of
evaporation of the liquid fuel itself. This latter corrected value is
used throughout this volume for all determinations of thermal
efficiency.
It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the heat value of a
volatile liquid fuel bears no relation whatever to the power output
20 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
TABLE V
Heavy Fuels
Heavy Aromatics … … 17,900 158,500 18,030 159,600 136·0
(App.) (App.)
Kerosene … … … … 1.9,000 154,400 19,100 155,200 108·0
(App.) (App.)
Paraffin Series
Pentane (Normal) … … 19,600 122,300 19,740 123,100 154·0
Hexane (80 % pure) … … 19,250 131,900 19,390 132,900 156·0
Heptane (97 % pure) … … 19,300 132,800 19,420 134,100 133·0
Aromatic Series
Benzene (pure) … … … 17,302 152,950 17,460 154,200 172·0
Toluene (99 % pure) … … 17,522 152,500 17,660 153,600 151·0
Xylene (91 % pure) … … 17,800 153,500 17,930 154,500 145·0
Naphthene Series
Cyclohexane (93 % pure) … 18,800 147,800 18,940 149,000 156·0
Hexahydrotoluene (80 %) … 18,760 146,200 18,890 147,200 138·0
Hexahydroxylene (60 %) … 18,770 139,700 18,890 140,600 133·0
(App.) (App.)
Olefines
Cracked Spirit (53 % unsat.) … 18,400 139,400 18,540 140,200 150·0
(App.) (App.) (App.)
Alcohol Group, &c.
Ethyl Alcohol (98 %) … … 11,480 91,600 11,840 94,500 406·0
„ (95 v o l %) … 10,790 88,000 11,130 92,000 442·0
Methyl Alcohol (Wood Naphtha) 9,630 79,900 10,030 83,300 500·0
(App.)
Methylated Spirits … … 10,200 83,700 10,580 86,900 450·0
(App.)
Butyl Alcohol (Coml.) … … … … … … …
Ether (50 % in petrol) … … 16,700 121,300 16,830 122,500 146·0
(App.) (App.) (App.)
Carbon Disulph. (50 %) … 10,600 105,400 10,730 106,600 146·0
VOLATILE LIQUID FUEL 21
obtainable from that fuel. In the case of gaseous fuels when the
calorific value is very low, the apparent relationship is due largely
to the presence in the gas of a considerable proportion of inert
diluents such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide, in which case, of course,
the power output is reduced because these diluents displace some
of the available oxygen. In the case of volatile liquid fuels,
however, the vapour contains no diluents at all, and the power
output available is, therefore, entirely independent of the calorific
value of the fuel.
The heat value of a fuel is, on the other hand, a direct measure
of the quantity of fuel required, the lower the heat value the greater
being the quantity needed to do the same work.
Heat Value of Mixture.—It is upon the heat value of the
mixture of fuel and air, in the proportion required to give complete
combustion, that the power output of an engine depends, and in this
connection we find that all hydrocarbon fuels give within very close
limits the same heat value per standard cubic inch of correct mixture.
"When allowance is made for the increase or decrease in specific
volume after combustion, the variation becomes even less.
The following Table VI gives :—
Col. (1) The corrected calorific value of various petrols and other fuels.
Col. (2) The ratio of air/fuel by weight for complete combustion.
Col. (3) The increase or decrease in specific volume after combustion.
Col. (4) The ft.-lb. of energy liberated by the combustion of one standard
cubic inch of mixture giving complete combustion, i.e. the total
available internal energy.
(3) (4)
(2) Total Energy
Calorific (lower) Air-to- Spec. liberated by
Value (including Fuel Volume Combustion
Latent Heat at Ratio by after Com- per cub. in.
Fuel. Constant Volume). Weight bustion at n.t.p. of
÷ that be-
for fore Com- Mixture
Complete bustion or giving
B.Th.U. B.Th.U Com- " Volume complete
per lb. per gall. bustion. Ratio." Combustion
foot-lb.
Naphthene Series
Cyclohexane (93 % pure) … 18,940 149,000 14·7 1·044 48·11
Hexahydrotoluene (80 %) … 18,890 147,200 14·7 1·047 48·2
Hexahydroxylene (60 %) … 18,890 146,600 14·8 1·054 48·59
Olefines
Cracked Spirit (53 % unsat.) … 18,540 140,200 14·8 1·054 49·54
(App.)
Alcohol Group, &c.
Ethyl Alcohol (98·5 %) … 11,840 94,500 8·9 1·065 47·39
„ (95 vol. %) … 11,130 92,000 8·4 1·065 46·86
Methyl Alcohol (Wood Naphtha) 10,030 83,300 6·5 1·06 48·2
(App.) (App.)
Methylated Spirit … … 10,580 86,900 8·0 1·064 48·82
(App.)
Butyl Alcohol (Coml.) … … … … … … …
Ether (50 % in petrol)… … 16,830 122,500 13·0 1·06 49·2
Carbon Disulph. (50 %) … 10,730 106,600 10·8 0·98 39·4
VOLATILE LIQUID FUEL 23
exactly the same in the case of all volatile liquid fuels yet examined
with the exception of ether, and, in all cases, the maximum thermal
efficiency is obtained when the mixture is 15 per cent weak. If
any attempt be made to weaken the mixture beyond this point,
combustion becomes unduly slow and incomplete, and the efficiency
falls away in consequence. Theoretically, of course, the efficiency
should rise steadily as the mixture strength is reduced and should
follow an almost straight line law until at the point when the mixture
is infinitely weak the efficiency should be equal to the air standard.
In practice the extent to which the mixture can be weakened with
increase of efficiency depends to some small extent, in the case of a
single-cylinder engine, upon the position of the sparking plug and the
intensity of the spark, while in a multi-cylinder engine it depends
to a much larger extent upon the uniformity of distribution, but in
both cases it is very limited.
It is perhaps rather remarkable that the maximum thermal
efficiency obtainable with two fuels so widely different as hexane
C6H14 and benzene C6H6 should be the same, but the explanation lies
in the fact that while for CO2 the dissociation is great at high tem-
peratures, yet the increase in specific heat is small. On the other
hand, for H20 the dissociation is small but the increase in specific
heat is great. Curiously enough, these effects almost exactly balance
one another, so that the sum of the losses from each source is prac-
tically the same,
The following Table VII gives :—
Col. (1) The lower calorific value of the fuel corrected for the latent heat of
evaporation.
Col. (2) The lowest fuel consumption in terms of lbs. and pints per I.H.P. hour
at a compression ratio of 5 : 1.
Col. (3) The corresponding thermal efficiency.
The above figures relate to the thermal efficiency obtainable
when all fuels are used at the same compression ratio.
It has, however, been stated previously that the highest com-
pression ratio at which a fuel may be used depends upon its tendency
to detonate, and it has been shown that this varies widely.
The following Table VIII shows the fuel consumption in terms
both of pints and lbs. per I.H.P. hour when each fuel is used at its
highest useful compression ratio.
It will be noted that in the case of kerosene and one or two
other examples which are not very volatile, the observed thermal
efficiency is considerably lower, due to the fact that a substantial
24 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
TABLE VII
Paraffin Series
Pentane (Normal) … … 19,740 123,100
Hexane (80 % pure) … … 19,390 132,900 0·411 0·480 32·0
Heptane (97 % pure) … … 19,420 134,100 0·410* 0·475* 31·9*
Aromatic Series
Benzene (pure) … … … 17,460 154,200 0·458 0·415 31·8
Toluene (99 % pure) … … 17,660 153,600 0·455 0·418 31·7
Xylene (91 % pure) … … 17,930 154,500 0·452 0·420 31·4
Naphthene Series
Cyclohexane (93 % pure) … 18,940 149,000 0·420 0·427 31·9
Hexahydrotoluene (80 %) … 18,890 147,200 0·425 0·430 31·7
Hexahydroxylene (60 %) … 18,890 140,600 0·424* 0·456* 31·8*
Olefines
Cracked Spirit (53 % unsat.) … 18,540 140,200 0·429 0·453 32·0
* This sign indicates that the values are only calculated, since these fuels could not be tested
at a compression ratio of 5 : 1 owing to detonation. The values have been inserted to show
the efficiency and power obtained relatively to the other fuels if used at the same compression.
VOLATILE LIQUID FUEL 25
TABLE VIII
Heavy Fuels
Heavy Aromatics … … … … 0·447 0·404
Kerosene … … … … … 0·581 0·571
Paraffin Series
Pentane (Normal) … … … …
Hexane (80 % pure) … … … 0·405 0·473
Heptane (97 % pure) … … … 0·491 0·568
Aromatic Series
Benzene (pure) … … … … 0·392 0·355
Toluene (99 % pure) … … … 0·385 0·354
Xylene (91 % pure) … … … 0·381 0·354
Naphthene Series
Cyclohexane (93% pure) … … … 0·385 0·392
Hexahydrotoluene (80 %) … … 0·394 0·404
Hexahydroxylene (60 %) … … … 0·429 0·461
Olefines
Cracked Spirit (53 % unsat.) … … 0·405 0·428
Max. Ind.
Total Latent Mean
Energy Heat of Effective Max. Ind. Mean
liberated by Evapora- Pressure at Effective Pressure
Combustion tion of Fuel Compres- at Highest Useful
per cub. in. (at Con- sion Ratio Compression.
Fuel. of Mixture stant Pres- Heat 65
of 5 : 1.
giving sure atmo- Heat 65 B.Th.U.
complete spheric) B.Th.U. Min.
Combustion B.Th.U. Min. lb. per sq. in.
foot-lb. per lb. lb. per sq. in.
SUMMARY
The results of a lengthy investigation of the various volatile
liquid fuels carried out on behalf of the Asiatic Petroleum Co. may
be summarized as follows :—
(1) It has been proved that the tendency of a fuel to detonate
is the one outstanding factor in determining its value for use in a
constant-volume internal-combustion engine. Compared with this,
most other considerations are of secondary importance.
(2) There appears to be little doubt as to the correctness of the
view, now generally accepted, that detonation is largely dependent
upon the normal rate of burning of the fuel and is less the lower the
rate of burning.
(3) In all cases it seems that a low rate of burning is advantageous.
No fuel has yet been found whose rate of burning was too low to
permit of maximum efficiency being obtained in the highest speed
engine yet tested.
(4) Fuels capable of standing a very high compression will
operate in a low compression engine, equally as efficiently as those
whose normal rate of burning is high—provided that there is a
reasonable degree of turbulence in the combustion chamber.
(5) Apart from the limitations introduced by detonation, the
power output obtainable from all volatile liquid fuels, with the
exception of the alcohol group, is the same at the same compression
to within less than 2 per cent. Such variations as occur, within
this range, are due rather to variations in the latent heat of evapora-
tion than to any other circumstance.
(6) Owing to the high latent heat and low boiling point of alcohol
and certain other bodies, the weight of charge per cycle is greater
and a higher power output is obtained in consequence.
(7) The efficiency with which all volatile fuels, other than alcohol,
&c., are burnt is practically the same, at the same compression ratio,
irrespective of rate of burning, provided the compression is low
enough to avoid detonation under any circumstances. In the case
of alcohol, the efficiency is slightly higher, on account of the lower
flame temperature.
30 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
(8) The useful range of burning is, to all intents and purposes,
the same for all volatile liquid fuels,
(9) The unavoidable losses due to the combined influence of
dissociation and change of specific heat at high temperatures are
substantially the same in all cases.
(10) All the experimental results indicate that the performance
of any combination of hydrocarbons as regards detonation, and
therefore the power output and efficiency obtainable, is the mean
performance of each of the components. The performance of any
complex fuel such as petrol can therefore be predicted, once the
nature and proportion of its constituents are determined, or con-
versely, a fuel can be prepared to give any required performance,
within the limits available.
(11) The highest useful compression ratio for, and therefore the
power output obtainable from, any petrol is governed by the relative
proportions of aromatics, naphthenes, and paraffins it contains—the
smaller the proportion of the latter the better from almost every
point of view.
(12) To judge of the quality of a fuel by its specific gravity is
entirely misleading. If naphthene and aromatic fractions are present
in any large proportion (as is frequently the case), then a high
specific gravity is a substantial advantage.
(13) Owing to the very rich mixture delivered normally by pilot
jets, and the still further enrichment effected by flooding, only a
relatively small proportion of highly volatile constituents appears to
be required for starting.
Table X (facing p. 30) and Table XI (facing p. 32) give a general
summary of the above investigations and test results which were
carried out on behalf of the Asiatic Petroleum Co, That the author
is permitted to publish them without reservation of any kind is due
to the generosity and public spirit of this most enterprising company.
The following particulars of the single-cylinder research engine and
its accessories which formed the principal piece of apparatus used
for the research, may be of some interest :—
In figs. 3-6 are shown drawings and photographs of the variable
compression engine referred to in connection with the preceding
tests,
In the design of this engine the following considerations were
taken into account:—
(1) In view of the prolonged and extensive nature of the tests,
not only were durability and reliability regarded as matters of
TABLE X.—FUEL CHARACTERISTICS.
A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J.
0·718 1·0 16·0 49·0 72·0 85·0 93·0 — — 63·0 1·7 35·0 — 0·004 19,080 137,000 19,200 136,200 46·08 1·053 48·5 15·
0·782 — — 15·0 54·0 83 ·0 98·0 — 164·0 26·0 39·0 35·0 28·0 0·005 18,450 144,300 18,580 145,200 46·39 1·038 48·15 14·
0·723 4·0 37·3 79·0 99·0 — — — 126·0 62·0 14·9 23·0 86·0 0·005 18,890 136,600 19,020 137,500 46·19 1·049 48·45 14·
0·727 — 11·5 47·0 79·0 92·0 98·5 — 160·0 61·0 8·5 30·5 54·0 0·005 19,000 138,100 19,120 137,000 46·13 1·052 48·53 14·
0·760 — 13·0 66·0 89·0 97·5 — 166·0 38·0 14·6 47·0 18·0 0·005 18,770 142,000 18,890 143,500 46·18 1·047 48·35 14·
0·719 2·0 14·5 43·0 71·0 86·0 96·0 — 170·0 68·0 11·3 20·0 70·0 0·005 18,970 136,400 19,090 137,100 46·16 1·051 48·51 14·
0·704 1·0 27·0 65·0 86·5 94·5 — — 153·0 80·0 4· 3 15·2 68·0 0·004 19,130 134,700 19,250 135,500 46·1 1·053 48·54 15·
0·750 — 7·0 24·0 47·0 67·0 81·5 91·0 210·0 — 7· 5 — 44·0 0·005 — — — — — — —
0·767 — — 7· 0 55·0 83·0 94·0 — 176·0 10·0 4· 8 85·0 17·0 0·006 18,790 144,100 18,920 145,000 46·1 1·048 48·31 14·
0·727 — 5·0 25·0 50·0 74·0 93·0 — 187·0 — 7· 8 — — 0·005 — — — — — — —
160° C. 180° C. 200° C. 220° C. 240° C. 260° C. 280° C.
% % % % % % %
0·885 8·0 30·0 50·0 65·0 77·0 90·0 — 275·0 — 71·5 — — 0·007 17,000 (App.) 158,500 (App.) 18,030 159,600 46·66 1·04 48·52 13·
0·813 — 22·0 36·0 50·0 63·0 78·0 86·0 300·0 — — — — 0·010 19,000 (App.) 154,400 (App.) 19,100 155,200 46·14 1·06 48·91 15·
0·884 80·0 Negligible 98·0 Negligible 26·0 0·006 17,302 152,950 17,480 154,200 46·9 1·013 47·51 13·
0·870 110·0 (App.) Negligible 99·0 Negligible 9·0 0·006 17,522 152,500 17,660 153,600 46·9 1·023 47·98 13·
0·862 84·0 to 143 (Bulk at 140·0) 91·0 0·006 17,800 153,500 17,930 154,500 48·7 1·03 48·1 13·
0·786 80·8 to 81·0 — 4·6 93·0 27·5 0·006 18,800 147,800 18,940 149,000 46·08 1·044 48·11 14·
0·780 95 ·5 „ 101 ·2 — 10·0 78·0 — — 18,760 146,200 18,890 147,200 46·04 1·047 48·2 14·
0·744 103 ·0 „ 123 ·0 — — 60·0 — — 18,770 (App.) 139,700 (App.) 18,890 140,600 46·1 1·054 48·59 14·
Olefines.
0·757 55·0 to 175·0 53·0 10·0 — — 18,400 (App.) 139,400 (App.) 18,540 140,200 47·0 1·054 49·54 14·
Water.
0·798 78·0 to 100·0 1·5 — — 12·0 0·012 11,180 91,600 11,840 94,500 44·5 1·065 47·39 8·
0·815 78 ·0 „ 100 ·0 7·0 — — — — 10,790 88,000 11,130 92,000 44·0 1·065 46·86 8·
0·829 66·0 + — — — 26·0 0·006 9,630 79,900 10,030 83,300 45·5 (App.) 1·06 (App.) 48·2 (App.) 6·
0·821 — 7·0 (App.) — — — 0·010 10,200 83,700 10,580 86,900 44·0 1·064 46·82 8·
0·823 117·0 + — — — — 0·030 — — — — — — —
0·727 35·0 + 2·5 (App.) — 50·0 Petrol — — 16,700 (App.) 121,300 (App.) 16,830 122,500 46·4 1·06 49·2 13·
0·994 46·0 + — — 50·0 Petrol — — 10,600 105,400 10,730 106,600 40·2 0·98 39·4 10·
VOLATILE LIQUID FUEL 31
primary importance, but every effort was made to ensure mechanical
consistency.
(2) Every expedient known at the time, viz. 1919, was adopted
to attain the highest possible thermal efficiency and power output,
and to ensure that all losses, whether thermal or frictional, were
reduced to the absolute minimum, and maintained as nearly constant
as possible, under all conditions.
(3) The engine was designed to run when required at a piston
speed in excess of that of contemporary engines.
(4) Means are provided for varying the compression of the
engine over any range from 3·7 :1 up to 8 : 1 while running at full
power, and without disturbing any temperature, frictional, mechan-
ical, or other conditions.
(5) The combustion chamber is so designed that its general
form and ratio of surface to volume undergo the minimum of altera-
tion when the compression is varied, and to this end a very long
stroke is employed.
(6) Special means are adopted to render the engine as little
sensitive to changes in the temperature of the lubricant as possible,
Ball bearings are used wherever possible, in order to reduce variation
in friction with different oil temperatures, and the water jacketing
round the barrel of the cylinder is stagnant, and therefore quickly
attains a constant temperature, independent of the temperature of
the supply. This ensures that the piston friction, which is depend-
ent upon the temperature of the oil on the cylinder walls, reaches a
minimum in the course of a few minutes, and thereafter remains
constant. The importance of retaining as nearly as possible the
same general form of combustion chamber under all conditions of
compression cannot be overestimated. Very misleading results
have been obtained when the compression ratio has been varied by
fitting different pistons, some with concave, others with convex
crowns. In one series of experiments with different compression
ratios which the writer examined, and which were obviously carried
out with the most scrupulous care, the results were entirely vitiated
because the whole character and efficiency of the combustion
chamber were completely changed, as between the low compression
and the high, with the result that a certain optimum compression
ratio was claimed to have been found, after which any further
increase in compression resulted in loss of power and efficiency. A
careful scrutiny of the results showed that at or near the so-called
optimum compression ratio the efficiency of the combustion chamber
32 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
Fig. 3
TABLE XI.—EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS FOR VARIABLE COMPRESSION ENGINE.
A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M.
4·85 105·5 738·0 0 0·415* 0·462* 0·422 0·471 31·9* 31·4 131·3* 130·0 138·1 + 18·0 100·0 (App.) 83·7
6·0 148·5 806·0 38·0 0·432 0·442 0·398 0·402 31·7 34·9 131·2 140·1 148·5 + 19·8 100·0 (App.) 93·0
5·7 133·5 792·0 28·0 0·423 0·468 0·393 0·435 31·7 34·1 131·5 137·5 146·0 + 5·4 100·0 (App.) 91·0
5·25 118·0 765·0 13·5 0·421 0·463 0·410 0·451 31·6 32·5 131·0 133·9 142·4 + 12·6 100·0 (App.) 86·7
5·35 121·5 770·0 16·5 0·422 0·445 0·407 0·428 31·9 33·1 131·2 134·9 142·9 + 19·8 100·0 (App.) 88·3
4·7 100·5 729·0 – 5·0 0·421* 0·469* 0·435 0·484 31·7* 30·7 131·0* 128·6 136·7 + 18·9 100·0 (App.) 81·8
5·05 111·5 752·0 6·5 0·414 0·471 0·412 0·469 31·9 32·1 131·8 132·7 140·5 + 9·5 100·0 (App.) 85·6
4·55 96·0 718·0 – 10·0 0·426* 0·454* 0·449 0·478 131·5* 127·4 135-4 + 32·4
5·9 140·5 804·0 35·0 0·425 0·443 0·389 0·405 131·0 139·5 147·8 + 21·6 100·0 (App.) 92·2
4·3 704·0 0·457 0·503 31·7 34·6 125·1 132·5 + 25·2
89·0 – 20·0 0·418* 0·460* 131·7*
6·5 163·5 820·0 55·0 0·510 0·461 0·447 0·404 27·6 31·5 131·1 142·5 + 50·5 86·0 84·0
4·2 86·0 696·0 – 22·0 0·523* 0·515* 0·581 0·571 25·4* 22·9 130·7* 123·0 + 56·0 80·0 61·2
6·9† 179·0 842·0 67·0 0·458 0·415 0·392 0·355 31·8 37·2 131·6 146·5 156·0 – 13·1 100·0 (App.) 99·2
>7·0 >183·0 >846·0 100·0 0·455 0·418 0·385 0·354 31·7 37·5 131·5 147·0 at 7·0 : 1 156·3 + 14·4 100·0 (App.) 100·0
>7·0 >183·0 >846·0 85·0 0·452 0·420 0·381 0·354 31·4 37·3 131·5 146·8 at 7·0 : 1 156·1 + 32·4 100·0 (App.) 99·5
5·9† 140·5 802·0 35·0 0·420 0·427 0·385 0·392 31·9 34·9 131·3 139·0 148·0 – 5·4 100·0 (App.) 93·0
5·8 136·5 798·0 31·5 0·425 0·436 0·394 0·404 31·7 34·3 131·0 137·9 146·6 + 5·4 100·0 (App.) 91·5
107·0 741·0 1·5 0·424* 0·456* 0·429 0·461 31·8* 31·5 130·8* 130·0 138·1 + 24·3 100·0 (App.) 84·0
4·9
5·55 128·0 782·0 23·5 0·429 0·453 0·405 0·428 32·0 33·9 131·6 136·0 145·4 + 19·0 100·0 (App.) 84·0
>7·5 >204·0 >796·0 >88·0 0·663 0·665 0·532 0·533 32·4 40·4 137·8 156·5 at 7·5 : 1 165·5 + 2·7 102·0 107·9
>7·5 >204·0 >788·0 >88·0 0·705 0·692 0·565 0·555 32·5 40·5 142·0 l6l·2 at 7·5 : 1 170·0 + 3·6 102·5 108·1
5·2† 116·5 648·0* 0·777 0·750 0·725 0·700 32·7 35·1 144·8 146·6 153·9 – 15·3 103·0 93·5
6·5† >163·5 720·0* 0·740 0·721 0·625 0·609 32·5 38·5 144·5 155·5 165·0 – 1·8 102·5 . 102·7
7·3 195·0 0·566 0·550 0·472 0·459 138·0 156·0 164·5 +18·0
3·9 77·0 662·0 80·0 136·0* 125·0 132·5 + 1·8
5·15† 115·0 734·0 (– 32·0) 124·5 125·7 136·3 – 12·6
(9·0)
This sign (†) indicates that pre-ignition occurred before audible detonation.
This sign (*) indicates that the values are only calculated, since these fuels could not be tested at a compression ratio of 5 : 1 owing to detonation. The values have been inserted to show the efficiency and power obtained relatively to the other fuels if used at the same e
(E 246)
VOLATILE LIQUID FUEL
Fig. 6.—Photo of upper Part of Engine showing Micrometer for measuring Compression Ratio
Fig. 14
Fig. 17
Fig. 19
Fig. 22.—Indicated Mean Pressure and Thermal Efficiency at different Mixture Strengths
with fixed Ignition Timing. Fuel, Petrol
Fig. 23.—Indicated Mean Pressure and Thermal Efficiency at different Mixture Strengths
with Ignition Timing adjusted for each Change in Mixture Strength. Fuel, Petrol
the mixture is over rich and to the left it is weak. In fig. 24 is shown
a similar curve taken with alcohol. It will be observed that while,
DETONATION 55
in. each case, the M.E.P. increases as the mixture is enriched
beyond the point of complete combustion, it is only in the case of
alcohol that there is any increase beyond 20 per cent excess
of fuel. The increase in mean pressure with excess fuel depends
upon the inter-relation of a number of factors; on the one hand are
the increase in specific volume and the increase in volumetric
efficiency due to the latent heat of the fuel, both of which tend to
increase the power output with further increase of mixture strength,
Against these must be offset the higher specific heat of the pro-
ducts of combustion, when the fuel is only partially burnt. In the
Fig. 24.—Indicated Mean Pressure and Thermal Efficiency at different Mixture Strengths
with Ignition Timing adjusted for each Change in Mixture Strength, Fuel, Alcohol
case of petrol and benzol the increase is small, because the latent
heat is low and the several factors more or less balance one another.
The latent heat of benzol is higher than petrol, and moreover more
use can be made of it, because the fuel is homogeneous, but, on the
other hand, the change in specific volume is smaller. In the case
of alcohol, the latent heat is very much higher and the change in
specific volume also is greater, consequently with this fuel the
mean pressure increases as the mixture is enriched to a far greater
extent than with either of the other two.
The range of burning on the weak side is substantially the same
in all three cases and indeed in the case of all known volatile liquid
fuels.
56 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
It will be observed that the efficiency is at a maximum when
the excess of air is between 10 and 18 per cent; with an excess of
20 per cent the process of combustion becomes so slow that the
running of the engine is unstable, and both misfiring and back-firing
through the inlet valve are liable to occur. The tests on which
these results are based were all carried out on single-cylinder
engines. In the case of a multi-cylinder engine, however well
designed the distribution system may be, it is practically impossible
to maintain the mixture strength to all cylinders uniform to within
closer limits than about 10 to 20 per cent. If the mean strength
supplied by the carburettor is, say, 15 per cent weak, it follows that
one or more cylinders will receive mixture as much as 20 to 25 per
cent weak which will result in misfiring and back-firing, through
the carburettor. To allow therefore for inequalities in distribution,
it is necessary, in practice, even in the very best examples to supply a
mixture containing not more than about 10 per cent excess of air.
With such a mixture the supply to some cylinders will be about
that giving complete combustion to others about 20 per cent weak,
and the maximum efficiency obtainable will be about 1·5 per cent
lower than could be obtained from a single-cylinder engine. It
will be seen, therefore, that in order to legislate for the weakest
cylinder and prevent back-firing, one or more of the remainder
must receive a mixture which is too rich for maximum economy,
and the indicated thermal efficiency of a multi-cylinder engine
will, on this account, always be lower than that of a single cylinder.
Further, the greater the number of cylinders fed from any one
source of supply, the lower the efficiency.
To sum up, (1) the available range of mixture strength on the
weak side, with all volatile hydrocarbon fuels, is very narrow, far
narrower than with most of the gaseous fuels.
(2) Owing to the narrow range of available mixture strength
and to the inevitable inequalities in distribution, multi-cylinder
engines cannot run with the most economical mixture strength,
hence their fuel consumption per H.P. hour must always be slightly
higher than that of a single cylinder—how much higher, depends
upon the number of cylinders supplied by any one carburettor
and, of course, on the efficiency of the distribution system.
(3) With all fuels, slightly more power is developed with an
over-rich mixture as compared with the mixture giving complete
combustion; with alcohol the increase in power is very marked, and
amounts to nearly 10 per cent with very rich mixtures.
THE TEMPERATURES OF THE CYCLE 57
(4) In the case of single-cylinder engines running on petrol or
benzol, maximum economy is obtained at about 92 to 94 per cent of
full power; in the case of multi-cylinder engines, for the reasons
given above, the maximum economy on the same fuels is slightly
lower, but is obtained at about 96 to 97 per cent of full power.
T h e Temperatures of the Cycle.—From the data and
information now available, it is possible to deduce with a fair degree
of accuracy, the temperature changes throughout the cycle when
liquid hydrocarbon fuels are used.
The first temperature which has to be determined is that at the
end of the suction stroke, for from this all the other cycle tempera-
tures can be obtained. It is also of direct importance as determining
the volumetric efficiency of the engine,
The temperature at this point is influenced by the final exhaust
temperature, owing to the admixture of the fresh charge with the
residual exhaust products in the clearance space. It therefore should
strictly be evaluated by a “ hit-and-miss ” type of calculation, by
which a residual exhaust temperature is assumed, and the cycle
temperatures worked out on that assumption. The assumed exhaust
temperature is then modified till it agrees with that which is obtained
by calculating round the cycle.
Fortunately, however, it requires a large change in exhaust tem-
perature appreciably to alter the suction-temperature, so that the
assumed and calculated temperatures need not check very closely.
It is, in the author's opinion, always preferable to take a concrete
example ; we will therefore consider the case of a cylinder with a
swept volume of 80 cub. in. running at 2000 R.P.M. Let the com-
pression ratio be 5 : 1, making the total cylinder volume 100 cub. in.,
and let the following conditions be assumed :—
Mean jacket temperature 140° F.
Heat input to charge external to cylinder (by
carburettor heating, &c.) 0·05 B.Th.U. per cycle.
Absolute pressure in cylinder at end of suction
stroke 14·0 lb./in.
Absolute pressure in cylinder at end of exhaust
stroke 14·7
Mean temperature of outside air 60° F.
Energy liberated
Change in Sp. Vol. Complete Com- per Standard cub.
Fuel. after Combustion bustion Mixture in. of Mixture ft. lb.
(Correct Mixtures). (by Weight). exclusive of change
of Specific Volume.
per cent.
Petrol + 5·0 14·3/1 46·2
Benzene + 1·3 13·2/1 46·9
Alcohol + 6·5 8·95/1 44·5
the final suction temperature will be the same at whatever stage the
latent heat of evaporation is extracted, provided only that evapora-
tion is complete before compression starts.
We now have 80 cub. in. of fresh charge at 155° F. or 614° F. abs.
and 14·0 lb./in. absolute pressure. Reduced to N.T.P. this becomes
80 x = 60·9 cub. in. This gives a volumetric efficiency of
= 76·2 per cent, a figure which agrees very closely with that
found in, for example, the author's single-cylinder research engine
under similar temperature conditions, as shown in fig. 25, which
indicates the observed volumetric efficiency at different mixture
60 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
strengths when running with the heat input to the carburettor
specified above, and at a piston speed of 2000 ft. per minute,
The volume of the residual exhaust gases at N.T.P. was shown
to be 4·68 cub. in., so that the total standard volume of the combined
mixture = 60·9 + 4·68 = 65·58 cub. in. As this actually fills a volume
of 100 cub. in. at a pressure of 14·0 lb./in. its temperature must be
x 491 = 717° F. absolute or 258° F.
This figure may be taken as the final suction temperature to
within about ± 10° F. in the case considered. The chief possibilities
of error lie in
(1) The temperature of the exhaust products. Owing, however,
to the fact that as their temperature increases their mass correspond-
ingly decreases, a large error here has but little influence on the
suction temperature,
(2) The heat picked up from the cylinder walls, &c. This is
certainly rather a doubtful figure, but the author has arrived at it
by running an engine with varying jacket temperatures, and adding
known quantities of heat by means of an electrical resistance in the
induction pipe until the volumetric efficiency, and therefore the
suction temperature, was constant. By measuring the difference in
external heat necessary to do this with varying jacket temperatures,
it was possible to estimate the total amount of heat taken up from
this source.
(3) In most cases the amount of pre-heating of the charge before
its entry to the cylinder is very uncertain, since in practice the heat
is generally supplied either from the exhaust or from the circulating
water. For experimental work the author prefers to supply this
heat electrically so that it can readily and accurately be measured.
If benzene be used instead of petrol, we find that, owing both to
its higher latent heat and to the greater proportion of fuel needed to
combine with the air, the final suction temperature is lower, namely,
about 235° F., while the volumetric efficiency is correspondingly
higher, about 78·5 per cent. The residual exhaust temperature may
be taken, as with petrol, as 2100° F. absolute.
In the third case, that of ethyl alcohol, the extremely high latent
heat and the large proportion of fuel in the mixture produce much
greater cooling effect, with the result that, arguing on the above
premises, the final suction temperature, even after admixture with
the residual exhaust products, will only be 67° F . ; the corresponding
volumetric efficiency should therefore be 104·3 per cent.
THE TEMPERATURES OF THE CYCLE 61
Suction Volumetric
Fuel. Temperature. Efficiency.
per cent.
Petrol 258 76·2
Benzene 235 78·5
Alcohol 150 90·0
Suction Volumetric
Fuel. Temperature. Efficiency.
The compression pressure in each case will be 140 x 5(1·35) = 123 lb.
per square inch absolute or 108·3 lb. per square inch gauge.
With the alcohol mixtures, the final suction temperatures are
the same both for the normal and the weak mixtures, so that the
compression temperature, uncorrected for the latent heat of the
surplus liquid, are also the same, being
609 x5(1·33-1) = 1035° F. abs.
THE TEMPERATURES OF THE CYCLE 63
per cent.
Petrol + 5·0 46·2 48·5
Benzene + 1·3 46·9 47·5
Alcohol + 6·5 44·5 47·4
or, to all intents and purposes, exactly the same as with petrol,
since the lower internal energy balances almost exactly the higher
volumetric efficiency.
With alcohol, the same calculation will show that the indicated
mean pressure should be 158·3 lb. per square inch, but this is based
on a volumetric efficiency of 90 per cent, an efficiency which is not,
in practice, realized for reasons already given. If the volumetric
efficiency betaken as 82·5 per cent, which corresponds with experi-
mental results under similar conditions, the indicated mean pressure
becomes 158·3 x = 145 lb. per square inch, which is in very close
agreement with observed results.
Again, for a 20 per cent weak mixture we must reduce the total
internal energy accordingly, but, on the other hand, the thermal
efficiency is increased owing to the lower flame temperature ; also
the volumetric efficiency is reduced very slightly owing to the smaller
influence of the latent heat of evaporation for such a mixture. The
figures then become :
I.H.P.
Fuel,
20 per cent Weak. Correct. 20 per cent Rich.
this period, for in addition to the normal heat flow to the cylinder
walls the hot gases are issuing at an exceedingly high velocity past
the exhaust valve and through a short length of exhaust pipe which
is always included in the cylinder jacket and cooled by the circulat-
ing water, consequently of the total heat carried away by the cooling
water at least one-half and often more than half is given up during
the exhaust period. Now the whole of the heat taken up during
the exhaust stroke, by far the bulk of that taken up during expansion,
and about 60 per cent of that taken up during combustion, should.
have been debited to the exhaust loss account.
In addition, of the total heat carried away by the cooling water,
a very substantial proportion is generated by the friction of the
piston on the cylinder walls.
It is interesting to take a specific example and to trace out as
accurately as it is possible so to do the true gain in efficiency which
would be effected if all heat loss to the cylinder walls were completely
suppressed. Let us take, as a fair average example, the case of a
well-designed and efficient engine with a compression ratio of 5 : 1
in which
32 per cent of the total heat of the fuel is converted into useful work on the
piston,
28 per cent of the total heat of the fuel is carried away by the cooling water,
40 per cent of the total heat of the fuel remains and is accounted as lost to
exhaust radiation, &c.
Of the total heat carried away by the cooling water, approxi-
mately 6 per cent will be lost to the walls of the cylinder during the
combustion period, about 7 per cent will be yielded up during
expansion, and the remaining 15 per cent during the exhaust stroke.
Of the 6 per cent lost during the combustion period roughly about
40 per cent would appear as useful work or 2·4 per cent of the total
heat of the fuel. Of the 7 per cent lost during expansion, somewhere
about 20 per cent would be utilized or 1·4 per cent of the total heat
of the fuel. Of the 15 per cent lost during the exhaust stroke, no
part could have been utilized. We find therefore that, although
28 per cent of the total heat of the fuel has been carried away by the
cooling water, only 3·8 per cent could have been converted directly
into useful work on the piston, and the efficiency of the engine
would be increased from 32 per cent to 35·8 per cent only, a gain of
barely 12 per cent. Nor is this all, for, had all loss of heat to the
cylinder walls been suppressed, the temperature of the working
fluid would necessarily have been correspondingly higher, with the
76 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
result that the losses due to the increase both of specific heat and of
dissociation at the higher temperatures would be increased sub-
stantially, and the net gain would be very small, probably only
from 32 per cent to about 34·5 per cent or possibly 35 per cent.
These figures show clearly how relatively small a part the loss of
heat to the cylinder walls plays in an Internal-Combustion engine,
and how misleading it may be to assess that loss of heat by the heat
carried away by the cooling water. As a first approximation it is
fairly correct to assume that, of all the heat carried away by the
cooling water of a cylinder, little more than 10 per cent could actually
be converted directly into useful work.
Tables I., II., and III. show the distribution of heat as found in
the author's 4½ in. x 8 in. variable-compression research engine shown
in figs, 3 and 4 under several different conditions. These figures were
all obtained under circumstances which ensure a very high degree
of accuracy.
Group A.—Distribution of heat at different speeds with wide
open throttle. In all cases the mixture strength was approximately
10 per cent weak, the jacket temperature was kept constant at
140° F., and the heat input to the carburettor was maintained at
0·0433 B.Th.U. per revolution.
The three sets of tests in this group were run, one on ethyl alcohol
95 per cent, and the other on petrol, sample (A), at a compression
ratio of 3 · 8 : 1 , while the third set was run on ethyl alcohol 95 per
cent at a compression ratio of 7 : I.
It will be observed :
(1) That owing to the lower mean cycle temperature the thermal
efficiency obtained with alcohol is substantially higher than that
obtained with petrol at the same compression ratio.
(2) For the same reason, the proportion of heat carried away by
the cooling water is less,
(3) That the thermal efficiency is affected very little by a wide
variation in speed.
(4) That the proportion of the heat taken away by the cooling
water falls slightly as the speed is increased.
The results shown in Group B were observed under the following
conditions. The engine was run at a constant speed of 1500 R.P.M.,
corresponding to a piston speed of 2000 ft, per min., and the load
was varied by throttling, the mixture strength being kept constant
throughout at about 10 per cent weak, while the heat input to the
carburettor was maintained at 0·0433 B,Th.U. at full load and
DISTRIBUTION OF HEAT IN A FOUR-CYCLE ENGINE 77
TABLE I—GROUP A
Intake Heat to
Intake Press., Air, B.H.P. B.M.E.P., Heat to Cooling Cooling Water,
Atmos. Abs. Temp. lb./sq. in. Water, H.P. per cent of
deg. F. B.H.P.
Fig. 28
sired figure between 80° F. and 180° F. Since the air compressor
supplying the supercharge is separately driven, and in any case is
of large excess capacity, its power absorption has not been taken
into account in the following figures, nor has allowance been made
for the energy returned to the engine piston by the supercharge air
during the normal suction stroke.
Since measurement of the air supply involved very great diffi-
culty the air/fuel ratio could not be determined with sufficient
accuracy to justify expressing the heat balance in terms of the total
heat of the fuel as in the case of the preceding experiments on the
DISTRIBUTION OF HEAT IN A FOUR-CYCLE ENGINE 83
variable compression engine. It is therefore expressed in terms of
the brake horse-power of the engine. The figures, in consequence,
are not directly comparable with those given previously, but they
show accurately the effect of supercharge on heat flow.
In fig, 28 is shown the increase in B.M.E.P. (uncorrected for the
Fig. 29
Fig. 30
Fig. 31
86 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
quence. It is due also to the fact that the piston friction is depen-
dent upon the viscosity of the oil on the cylinder walls and this, in
turn, is dependent upon their temperature.
In engines in which the temperature of the induction system is
controlled independently of the cylinder temperature, the difference
in power, if any, is much less marked, and it then becomes a question
of the relation between three factors.
(1) The variation in heat loss to the jackets with temperature.
(2) The variation in volumetric efficiency with temperature.
(3) The variation in piston friction with temperature.
With regard to the heat loss to the jackets. It has already been
shown that if the whole of the loss during combustion and expan-
sion were completely suppressed, the indicated horse-power would
be increased by less than 10 per cent, taking into account the loss
due to dissociation, &c., at the higher temperatures, which would
then be reached. Now the mean temperature during combustion
and expansion may be taken as about 3800° F., and that of the
inner surface of the cylinder walls with boiling jacket water as, at
most, about 300° F., the temperature difference between the two
being about 3500° F. If now the temperature of the jacket water
be reduced by 150° F. (that is, from boiling to 72° F.) the temperature
difference between the gases and the cylinder walls will only be
increased to 3650° F., an increase of little more than 4 per cent.
Assuming that the heat loss is proportional to the temperature
difference (and this is approximately true), then the difference in
the indicated efficiency and power due to the greater heat loss with
cold jackets will only be 4 per cent of 10 per cent, or about 0·4 per
cent. With a very badly designed combustion chamber it might
conceivably amount to as much as 1 per cent, but in any case it is
but a trifling amount.
With regard to the variation in volumetric efficiency the differ-
ence here is much more marked and is in the reverse direction.
With hot cylinder walls at 300° F., the rise in temperature of the
working fluid due to contact with the inlet valve and cylinder walls
during its entry will amount to about 80° F. With cold water it
will be about 55° F., assuming that the mean surface temperature of
the walls is, in each case, about 90° F. higher than that of the jacket
water. Experiments quoted elsewhere show that with a cylinder of
normal design the change in the temperature rise of the entering
gases is about one-sixth of that of the cylinder walls. The mean
absolute temperature of the working fluid after its entry to the
DISTRIBUTION OF HEAT IN A FOUR-CYCLE ENGINE 87
cylinder may be taken as about 700° F. absolute. The weight of
charge taken into the cylinder and therefore the power output will be
proportional to the absolute temperature, so that if this is reduced by
25° F. the weight of charge taken into the cylinder, per cycle, will be
increased in the proportion of or about 3·75 per cent. From the
above considerations it will be seen that while the power and efficiency
may be reduced by from 0·4 per cent to 1 per cent, due to increased
In the case of the engines used for tanks which were fitted with
cross-head pistons and independently heated induction systems, it
was invariably found that the brake horse-power was from 1·5 per
cent to 2 per cent higher with “ cold ” jacket water, i.e. about 80° F.,
than with. “ hot, ” i.e. about 180°-200° F. The difference in power was
quite appreciable in service, and tank drivers frequently expressed
surprise that their engines appeared to be more “ lively ” when
the cylinders were cold.
To sum up, apart from any question of carburettor temperature,
DISTRIBUTION OF HEAT IN A FOUR-CYCLE ENGINE 89
the power output of an engine may increase or decrease as the jacket
temperature is raised, depending upon the piston friction; if the
piston friction is high, the power output will increase; if low, it will
not increase. The increase in heat loss over the most extreme con-
ditions is so small as to be negligible. The increase in volumetric
efficiency is comparatively large, but is usually not sufficient to balance
the increase in piston friction, hence the loss of power so often
observed.
In most cases, however, the temperature of the carburettor and
induction system is dependent also upon the jacket-water tempera-
ture, and when operating with fuels of low volatility the variation of
temperature of these parts may play a supremely important part,
particularly if the distribution is inherently defective or the mixture
is rather weak,
Gas Velocity and Indicated Mean Pressure.—From
analysis of a very large number of observations and test results, the
author has found that the best all-round compromise between such
various conflicting conditions as (1) the attainment of the highest
possible volumetric efficiency, (2) the attainment of the necessary
degree of turbulence, (3) the reduction of the fluid pumping losses to
the lowest possible limit, is achieved when the mean gas velocity
through the valves is in the neighbourhood of 130 ft. per second,
Clearly from the point of view of conditions (1) and (3) it is desir-
able to keep the velocity as low as possible, while to fulfil condition
(2) a high gas velocity is required. The gas velocity, as is customary,
is expressed in terms of feet per second through the valve opening
on the assumption (a) that the valve is wide open throughout the
entire stroke; (b) that the mean and not the maximum piston speed
is taken into account.
There is now abundant evidence that where the valves open
directly into the main body of the combustion chamber a somewhat
higher gas velocity may be employed without impairing the volu-
metric efficiency; on the other hand, with such a combustion
chamber free from pockets or recesses turbulence will be better
maintained and a lower gas velocity will suffice. In other words,
when the valves are so placed that they open freely into the com-
bustion space, both the efficiency and the mean pressure are less
dependent upon gas velocity. In practice, however, the size of the
valves and valve passages is largely controlled by mechanical limita-
tions, Practical experience indicates that, when valves are fitted
directly in the cylinder heads, only as much area of opening should
90 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
be given as can be provided without allowing the symmetry and
compactness of the combustion chamber to suffer. It would seem
preferable, therefore, to increase the gas velocity up to as high as
160 ft. per second, rather than to distort the combustion chamber
in order to accommodate larger valves.
The valve-opening diagram is clearly a very important factor,
and in the absence of precise information it must be assumed that
the valve-opening diagram is in each case that best suited to the
general design of the engine and its pipe-work.
Fig. 33.—A Selection of Curves showing M.E.P. and Fuel Consumption on a Gas-Velocity Basis
No. of Valves 2 inl. 3 exh. No, of Valves 2 inl. 2 exh. No. of valves 2 Inl. 1 exh. No. of valves 1 inl. 3 exh.
900 66·1 86·6 19·9 66·1 137·2 20·0 66·1 235·0 18·8 132·2 86·6 19·1
1100 81·0 106·0 24·5 81·0 168·0 24·55 81·0 287·5 22·9 162·0 106·0 23·0
1300 95·5 125·0 29·4 95·5 198·0 29·4 95·5 339·0 26·0 191·0 125·0 27·0
1500 111·0 144·5 34·5 111·0 228·5 34·4 111·0 391·0 26·7 222·0 144·5 30·7
1700 124·8 163·0 39·8 124·8 259·0 39·3 124·8 443·0 26·4 249·6 l63·0 33·8
1900 139·6 183·0 45·1 139·6 290·0 44·3 139·6 496·0 25·2 279·2 183·0 36·0
Fig. 34.
THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
GAS VELOCITY, POWER, AND EFFICIENCY 93
From the more reliable data now available it is possible to con-
struct a curve giving the relation between inlet gas velocity and
volumetric efficiency with a very fair degree of accuracy. As already
explained, however, the volumetric efficiency is also influenced
to a very large extent by the vaporisation of fuel within the cylinder
and upon the degree of pre-heating before entry; it is therefore
dependent upon these factors also. The curve shown in fig. 35
gives to a close approximation the relation between the volumetric
Fig. 36
Fig. 37
of the Lest possible from the point of view both of detonation and
combustion efficiency so long as the clearance between the piston
and the cylinder head is reduced to the very limit necessitated by
mechanical considerations, and so long also as the engine runs at a
comparatively low piston speed and therefore does not require
large valves. It is therefore a particularly efficient form for short-
stroke engines, but though excellent for power output and efficiency
it is unfortunately very inconvenient from a mechanical point of
view when applied to a vertical engine on account of the valve
operation and pipe work.
The form shown in fig. 38, in which the inlet valve is placed
vertically over the exhaust in a side-pocket, and in which both the
piston and cylinder crown are concave, is surprisingly efficient in
maintaining turbulence despite the fact that the valves are pocketed,
but, as may be expected with so long a travel for the flame, it is very
bad from the point of view of detonation and therefore can only
102 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
be used with a low compression ratio. With this form of com-
bustion chamber and with the sparking plug fitted in the valve
pocket, the tendency to detonate is considerable, while with the plug
fitted on the side, remote from the valve pocket, it is one of the
very worst possible forms, from the point of view of detonation, as
indeed might be expected. This form, therefore, necessitates the
use of a low compression ratio, but gives a very good power output
and efficiency at that compression.
Fig. 38
Some ten years ago, and as the result of a good deal of previous
experimental work carried out before and during the War, the
author patented a form of cylinder head for side-valve engines;
an example of which is shown in fig. 39; this has come to be known
as the “ turbulent head ”, and is now widely used. The primary
objects aimed at in this design of head were:
(1) To create additional turbulence during the compression
stroke in order to:
(a) Increase the rapidity of burning and so obtain both a greater
effective expansion ratio and, at the same time, render the engine
much less susceptible to ignition timing.
(b) Scour away as far as possible the layer of gas which nor-
mally clings to the cool surfaces of the combustion chamber and is
INFLUENCE OF FORM OF COMBUSTION CHAMBER 103
Fig. 39
104 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
therefore chilled to such an extent as to escape complete combus-
tion either entirely or until so late in the expansion stroke as to be
of little value.
(c) Reduce the tendency to detonate by keeping the unburnt
gas in rapid motion, thus enabling it the more readily to get rid of
the heat of compression by the oncoming flame front and, at the
same time, to break up the flame front.
(2) To reduce the length of flame travel from the sparking plug
Fig. 40
Fig. 41
Fig. 42
Fig. 43
25 lb, to 35 lb. per square inch per degree the curve is fairly flat;
below 25 lb. the loss by delayed and incomplete combustion be-
comes serious; in practice, very serious, for delayed combustion
means heavy carbonization,
a tendency to burn out or
pit exhaust valves, a “ sensi-
tiveness ” to ignition timing
and a tendency to fire back
into the carburettor if the
mixture is weakened to the
Fig. 46 economical limit. Above
about 35 lb. per square inch
the heat loss by intense convection exceeds the gain due to the
more rapid burning and the performance once more begins to fall.
Also, at these high rates of pressure rise the very abrupt application
of pressure intensifies crankshaft spring, piston slap, &c., and renders
the engine running very harsh, noisy, and rough.
(4) That in the so-called “ turbulent head ”, turbulence is set
up to an almost equal degree by:
(a) The initial velocity through the inlet valve.
(b) The velocity through the restricted throat during compres-
sion,
It is intensified also by the final ejection, just prior to ignition, of
the gases entrapped between the piston and cylinder head,
During the series of experiments referred to, each of the above
factors was varied individually step by step, and its influence evalu-
ated.
(5) That though each of the factors (a) and (b) influences the
degree of turbulence to an almost like extent, it is usually unde-
sirable, because of secondary considerations, unduly to intensify
either of them at the expense of the other; that is to say, it does not
pay, on the grounds of volumetric efficiency, to provide a very
small inlet valve and a large throat, thus relying for turbulence
mainly on intake velocity, nor, on the other hand, does it pay to
provide a very large valve and rely for turbulence on a very re-
stricted throat; for either method alone or when exaggerated unduly
tends to restrict the breathing capacity of the engine.
(6) That turbulence from each of the three sources increases
proportionately with increase of speed so that the relationship of
rate of pressure rise to crank-angle remains substantially constant
throughout the whole speed range of the engine; thus a combina-
110 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
Fig. 47.—Pressure rise 32·5 lb. per deg. Ignition 10 deg. E. Max. press. 438 lb.
Speed 800. Full load. O.V.S. Detonation. Max. power mixture strength,
I.M.E.P. 122 lb.
Fig. 48.—Pressure rise 32•5 lb. per deg. Ignition 13 deg. E. Max. press. 446 lb.
Speed 1200. Full load. No detonation. Max. power mixture strength.
I.M.E.P. 127 1b.
Fig. 49.—Pressure rise 31·8 lb. per deg. Ignition 21 deg. E. Max. press. 442 lb.
Speed 1800. Pull load. No detonation. Max, power mixture strength.
INFLUENCE OF FORM OF COMBUSTION CHAMBER 111
It will be noticed that position No. 1 is that giving the best re-
sults both in power and efficiency, together with the least tendency
to detonate. Although in position No. 2 the sparking plug is well
over the exhaust valve, a hot region, the tendency to detonate is
112 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
greater than for the more central position No. 1. The reason for this
lies in the greater length of flame travel in position No. 2. In Posi-
tion 4 the effect is still more marked.
(8) That so far as detonation is concerned, the clearance be-
tween the piston and cylinder head in the “ inoperative ” portion
is the main determining factor,
and is critical. Here detona-
tion is liable to take place, as
shown by observation through
the quartz windows, so soon as
a certain minimum clearance
is exceeded. Fig. 51 shows
the observed relationship be-
tween clearance space and the
tendency to detonate, from
which it will be seen that a
reduction in clearance from
0·15 in. to 0·10 in. alone per-
Fig. 51.—Curve showing tendency to detonate
mits of the compression ratio plotted against head clearance. Spark in
being raised by no less than normal position for Ricardo head.
0·85 ratio, viz. from 5·75 to 6·6.
(9) That the effect of turbulence alone upon the tendency to
detonate and as distinct from much more important factors such
as length of flame travel is appreciable, but not outstanding. It is
extremely difficult in any practicable engine to vary the degree of
turbulence without varying also other relevant factors which are
liable to confuse the issue, so far as detonation is concerned. For
the purpose of this part of the investigation the single-stroke engine,
with and without the fan running, proved the most instructive. In
this apparatus the compression could be varied within wide limits,
while the fan speed, and therefore the turbulence, was under com-
plete control. It was found that as the fan speed was increased, so
the compression ratio could be raised progressively, when the
same fuel was used, at the same mixture strength and the same
temperature.
Again, a series of experiments on the research engine No. 2 on
which only the area of the throat or passage connecting the com-
bustion chamber proper with the cylinder was varied, showed that,
as this area was reduced, and the turbulence and rate of pressure
rise increased thereby, so the ratio of compression within the de-
tonation limit could be raised.
INFLUENCE OF FORM OF COMBUSTION CHAMBER 113
Thus a series of tests on a large number of heads all fitted to
the same cylinder, and with the same minimum clearance above
the piston, but differing only in the throat area, yielded the results
shown in Table II.
TABLE II
Degree of Turbulence
(expressed in terms of Highest Useful Com-
rate of pressure rise, pression Ratio of Shell
lb. per square inch per No. 1 Petrol.
degree of crank angle).
25 5·35:1
30 5·55:1
35 5·80:1
40 6·10:1
45 6·55:1
50 6·85:1
55 7·05:1
60 7·15:1
TABLE III
A 0·022 6·9 : 1
B 0·085 6·8 : 1
C 0·147 5·67 : 1
D 0·210 5·48 : 1
E 0·272 5·37 : 1
Fig. 52
entry into local eddies which die down very soon in so restricted
a space,
On ignition, the gas in the pocket burns slowly, but at a steadily
increasing velocity, until the flame reaches the open mouth when,
owing to the abrupt change of section, the flame front is broken up
and disseminated rapidly throughout the main body of the com-
bustion space; stroboscopic and pressure rise observations on one
experimental head, in which the capacity of the pocket was ap-
proximately 15 per cent of the total volume of the combustion
chamber, showed that the time from the actual passage of the spark
until the flame reached the open mouth amounted to 30° when the
Fig. 54
shallow pocket was placed over the inlet valve, while the com-
pletion of combustion (up to the point of maximum pressure) of the
main body of the charge amounted only to 12°. In other words,
the burning of 15 per cent of the total charge occupied 30° of the
crankshaft, while that of the remaining 85 per cent occupied only
12°. When the pocket was placed over the exhaust valve, the rate
of burning therein was faster by about 4 crankshaft degrees, due to
the higher temperature both of the gas and of its surroundings when
in this position. See fig. 54.
From the point of view of detonation, although the sparking
plug is no longer centrally situated, the “ Shock-Absorber “ type of
head is very slightly better than the ordinary turbulent type, be-
cause, so far as detonation is concerned, the effective length of flame
travel is little more than that from the open mouth of the pocket to
the farthest point in the combustion chamber.
118 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
It is found with the “ Shock Absorber ” type head that the dis-
turbance caused by the burning of the pilot charge and the emer-
gence of the flame on a wide front, tend to create additional turbu-
lence in the main body of the combustion chamber, so much so that
when, to a given turbulent head, having a normal rate of pressure
rise of 35 lb. per degree, a shallow pocket was applied, the rise of
pressure rose to over 45 lb. per degree, though none of the con-
trolling factors were altered. This means, in effect, that for a
“ Shock-Absorber ” type head, the throat connecting the combus-
tion chamber with the cylinder may be enlarged considerably and
still allow of the same degree of effective turbulence and the same
rate of pressure rise, as with the ordinary turbulent head, in fact,
the restriction, as such, becomes less of a necessity.
In either the side valve or in the conventional overhead valve
type of engine, the valves are placed in a single row, along the engine,
consequently the total available valve area, or in other words, the
breathing capacity, is limited by the length of the engine or rather
that of the cylinder block.
In practice, the requirements of the crankshaft and its bearings
dictate the minimum cylinder centres and therefore the length of
the cylinder block. For any given size of cylinder the total available
valve area obtainable when all the valves are in a single row and
minimum cylinder centres are adhered to, is such as to limit the peak
of the power curve to a piston speed of about 3000 ft, per minute,
and this limitation applies alike to either side valve or overhead
valve engines so long as the valves are in a single row. In order,
therefore, to obtain the peak of the power curve at piston speeds
well in excess of 3000 ft. per minute, it becomes necessary to arrange
the valves in two rows. In racing-car engines it has now become the
invariable practice to employ two rows of inclined overhead valves,
each row operated by a separate overhead camshaft, thus allowing
of the use of a centrally placed sparking plug between the two
camshafts. This provides probably the most efficient form of head
possible with any arrangement of poppet valves, but is open to the
objection that it is complicated, costly, and inaccessible; for this
reason it is seldom used except for purely racing purposes. The
object of the “ High Power ” head is to reproduce as nearly as possible
the above conditions, without resort to an overhead camshaft, and
in a form which is relatively inexpensive and accessible.
The high-speed capacity and the high efficiency of the twin
overhead camshaft engine are due to:
INFLUENCE OF FORM OF COMBUSTION CHAMBER 119
(1) The ample breathing capacity afforded by having the inlet
and exhaust valves in separate rows, thus doubling the length
available for valve accommodation.
(2) The central position of the sparking plug,
(3) The very short length of flame travel due to the central
sparking plug and the absence of any corners or pockets where the
gases may be entrapped and detonated, thus allowing of the use of
a high ratio of compression.
(4) The low weight of the moving masses between the cams and
the actual valve heads, thus allowing of high rates of acceleration
and therefore of a very efficient valve opening diagram.
In the “ High Power ” type of head, these conditions are repro-
duced as far as possible in the following manner:
Fig. 55 Fig. 56
Petrol samples—
(1) 19·200 15·05 1275 197·0
(2) 19,020 14·7 1295 195·0
(3) 19·120 14·8 1293 195·5
(4) 18,900 14·6 1295 195·0
(5) 19,090 14·9 1282 197·0
(6) 19,250 15·0 1285 196·5
(7) 18,920 14·7 1288 196·0
Kerosene 19·100 15·0 1275 197·0
Hexane 19·390 15·2 1275 197·0
Heptane 19·420 15·1 1285 196·0
Benzene 17·460 13·2 1320 192·5
Toluene 17·660 13·4 1315 193·0
Cyclohexane 18·940 14·7 1290 196·0
Heptylene 19·320 14·7 1320 192·5
Ether 16·830 13·0 1295 195·0
Ethyl Alcohol—
99 per cent 11·950 8·95 1333 190·0
95 11·125 8·4 1330 190·5
124 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
mixture giving complete combustion, as also the value of the constant
C; but over a very wide range of mixture on the rich side, the variation
is, in all cases, very small indeed, and appears to be almost exactly
the same in the case of all volatile liquid fuels, so that the possible
error due to variations in mixture strength is extremely small.
The following tables, Nos. V to VII, give the results of typical
TABLE V
Petrol R=5 : 1, Sample No. 4
Date of test, 5/7/21
Per cent.
Correct 196·0 132·0 32·0 6·13 32·1
Plus 5 % excess fuel 196·5 135·0 32·7 6·0 32·8
10 197·0 136·5 33·1 5·95 33·1
15 197·5 137·5 33·3 5·93 33·2
20 198·1 138·0 33·4 5·94 33·15
25 198·8 138·0 33·4 5·96 33·05
30 199·5 137·5 33·3 5·98 32·85
35 200·0 136·5 33·1 6·04 32·7
Maximum thermal efficiency calculated from fuel consumption 32·1 per cent,
with, mixture 16 per cent weak.
TABLE VI
Ethyl Alcohol 99 per cent R = 5 :1
Date of test, 27/8/21
Per cent.
Correct 199·0 141·0 34·2 5·82 32·9
Plus 5 % excess fuel 199·5 143·0 34·6 5·77 33·3
10 200·0 144·5 35·0 5·72 33·65
15 201·0 145·5 35·25 5·70 33·7
20 202·0 146·5 35·5 5·69 33·75
25 203·0 147·0 35·6 5·70 33·7
30 204·0 147·3 35·7 5·72 33·65
35 205·0 147·6 35·8 5·73 33·6
Maximum thermal efficiency calculated from fuel consumption 33·0 per cent,
with mixture 15 per cent weak.
INFLUENCE OF FORM OF COMBUSTION CHAMBER 125
TABLE VII
Ethyl Alcohol 95 per cent R = 5 :1
Date of test, 16/8/21
Indicated Indicated
Lb. of Air Mean Pres- Lb. of Air Indicated
Mixture Strength. per Hour. sure, lb. Horse- per I.H.P. Thermal
per sq. in. Power. Hour. Efficiency.
Per cent.
Correct 203·0 145·0 35·1 5·79 33·1
Plus 5 % excess fuel 203·5 146·7 35·5 5·72 33·6
10 204·0 148·0 35·8 5·71 33·65
15 205·0 149·0 36·0 5·70 33·7
20 206·0 149·5 36·15 5·70 33·7
25 207·0 150·0 36·25 5·70 33·7
30 208·0 150·3 36·3 5·71 33·65
35 209·0 150·5 36·35 5·74 33·4
Maximum thermal efficiency calculated from fuel consumption 32·9 per cent,
with mixture 15 per cent weak.
tests on petrol and alcohol (the latter both nearly pure and 95 per
cent) over a wide range of mixture strength from correct to 35 per
cent over-rich, taken on the variable compression engine described
in Chapter II, while at the foot of each table the maximum thermal
efficiency as deduced from the fuel consumption at the most economical
mixture strength is given for purposes of comparison.
In Table VIII are given the results of air measurement tests at
varying compression ratio, ranging from 4 · 0 : 1 to 7 · 0 : 1 , the fuel
used in this case being benzol. Here again the agreement between
the calculated thermal efficiency from the air consumption with a
rich mixture, and from the fuel consumption with a weak mixture, is
on the whole very consistent.
Similar tests carried out on a six-cylinder aero-engine with a
compression ratio of 4 · 7 : 1 showed an air consumption of 6·4 lb. of
air per I.H.P. hour over a range of mixture strength from 10 per
cent to 25 per cent over-rich, using standard aviation petrol. The
air efficiency in this case works out at 31 per cent, a figure very con-
siderably greater than that obtained from the fuel consumption,
which was only 28·2 per cent at the most economical mixture
strength. The discrepancy in this case represents the loss due to
irregularities in distribution, etc. A comparison of these results
with those given previously for the variable compression research
engine is very interesting, all the more so because both engines have
126 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
TABLE VIII
Varying Compression Ratio
Fuel, Benzol, about 20 per cent rich
Date of test, 16/10/21
Indicated
Indicated Thermal
Indicated Indicated Thermal Efficiency
Compression Lb. of Mean Pres- Lb, of Air Efficiency as found
Ratio. Air per sure, lb. Horse- per L.H.P. as found by by Fuel
Hour, per sq. in. Power. Hour. Air Measure- Measure-
ment. ment 15 per
cent weak.
effective pressure would have been x 129, or about 110 lb. per
square inch; that it was, in fact, only 93 lb. was due again to defective
cylinder design, whereby the free entry of the gases after leaving the
inlet valve was obstructed by the surrounding walls of the shallow
valve pockets. Air measurements showed also that, while the
volumetric efficiency of the research engine at this compression ratio,
and at the same temperature, was 77 per cent, that of the four-
cylinder engine was only 66 per cent, so that the maximum M.E.P.
should have been x 110, or 94 lb. per square inch, a figure which
agrees very closely with the 93 lb. actually measured during the
tests. This latter is rather a striking example of an inherently
defective engine, which showed a comparatively good economy
because its induction system was unusually efficient.
In the absence of any means for measuring the air consumption,
a fair estimate of the efficiency of different forms of combustion
128 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
chamber can be gained by comparing the maximum mean effective
pressure, but this again assumes that the volumetric efficiency is the
same in both instances.
Such an assumption is, of course, not always justifiable, bub it
is at least fair to assume that the variations in volumetric efficiency
as between two somewhat similar types of engine will be very much
less, and will have a much smaller influence on the determination of
the combustion-chamber efficiency, than the variations in mixture
strength, as between individual cylinders, despite the rather ex-
ceptional example quoted above. Where means are available for
air measurement, the efficiency of any form of combustion chamber
can very readily be determined from the measured air consumption.
If an engine consumes its air efficiently, then it is an efficient
engine, and to render it economical in fuel is a question solely of
Carburation and distribution. If its air consumption is heavy, then
no amount of finessing with carburettor adjustments or distribution
design will render it efficient.
CHAPTER V
LUBRICATION AND BEARING WEAR
Three factors have to be considered in the design of any bearing :
first, the ability to carry the necessary duty in the space available
with a reasonable margin of safety against breakdown ; next, the
rate of wear of the bearing surfaces ; and, finally, the energy lost in
friction.
Piston friction will be dealt with in a later chapter, so that the
bearings only will be considered here.
These are generally of the “ plain ” or sliding friction type.
Ball and roller bearings, being of a fundamentally different nature,
are not included.
Where two surfaces, apparently in contact, are moving relatively
one to the other, there are three possible cases to be considered.
In the first case, that of “ dry ” friction, the surfaces are in
actual contact without any lubricant. In this case the friction is
very great, and only very low loads and speeds can be imposed
without seizure. This case never occurs when a bearing is function-
ing properly, so need not be dealt with further.
The second condition, that of “ greasy ” friction, occurs when the
surfaces, though virtually in contact, are actually lubricated with
some substance which discourages their mutual adhesion. The
lubricant in such cases appears to function by exerting some kind of
chemical action on the metallic surfaces,
Lastly, there is “ viscous ” friction, in which the surfaces are
completely separated by a film of lubricant: this is clearly by far
the most desirable state of affairs, and, fortunately, it is one which
can easily be attained in a well-designed and adequately lubricated
bearing, and may, in fact, be regarded as the normal condition.
In a journal bearing the necessary oil film between, the loaded
surface is maintained by a wedging action, due to the fact that
the shaft sets itself eccentrically in its journal. This is made clear
in fig, 57, where it can be seen that the oil in the wide space A is
(E 246) 129 10
130 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
dragged by the rotation of the shaft into the narrow space B, thus
forcing the surfaces apart. Under these circumstances the frictional
loss and the thickness of the oil film for any given conditions can be
evaluated theoretically, and it has been
found that the results so obtained hold good
in practice. These two factors—film thick-
ness and friction—depend, for any given
bearing, solely on the load, the speed, and
the viscosity of the lubricant.
The influence of these three factors is
roughly as follows: Increase of load, alteris
aequis, increases the friction, though not
nearly in direct proportion, and decreases
the film thickness. Increase of speed increases both the friction and
the film thickness, as does also an increase in the viscosity of the
lubricant. However, increase of either load or speed, by increasing
the rate of energy loss, heats up the oil, and thus decreases its vis-
cosity.
This fact, in the case of an increase of load, to some extent
nullifies the increased friction; it still further decreases the film
thickness, while with increased speed the theoretically increased
film thickness is actually reversed. Thus both increased load and
speed tend to reduce the film thickness.
It is clear that, as no surfaces are perfectly smooth, there is a
limiting thickness of oil film at which the high spots of the two
surfaces begin to bridge across the oil film.
At these points the oil film is no longer of appreciable dimensions,
so that the laws of “ greasy friction ” begin to apply. The frictional
force, under these circumstances, is, at such points, considerably
higher than with viscous friction, and obeys totally different laws.
The chief factor appears to be a property, probably of a chemical
nature, called “ oiliness,” which tends to reduce friction between two
surfaces in contact. It is quite distinct from viscosity, as quite thin
oils, such as sperm or rape, can have it in a far greater degree than
more viscous substances, such as treacle, from which it appears
to be entirely absent. Unfortunately the data on this subject is
very limited and largely contradictory, but it is fairly well established
that oils of animal or vegetable origin, such as sperm, rape, and
castor oils, are considerably “ oilier ” than the hydrocarbon mineral
oils, while viscous substances of a “ sticky ” nature are entirely
devoid of the property,
LUBRICATION AND BEARING WEAR 131
It is clear that if the lubricant has but little “ oiliness,” the
friction at the “ high spots ” will be exceedingly high, and that the
heat so generated will still further reduce the thickness of the oil
film, thereby making matters worse, and so starting a “ vicious
circle ” ending in seizure, unless the bearing lining has so low a
melting-point that it can fuse locally without boiling off the lubricant
as in the case of white-metal.
With an oily lubricant, on the other hand, the increase in friction
at the “ high spots ” will be much less, and the risk of seizure
correspondingly deferred.
The influence of “ oiliness ” is thus only of importance where,
owing to excessive loading, unsuitably disposed surfaces, or inade-
quate oil supply, a complete film of oil cannot be maintained. It
has apparently no influence on the friction under normal conditions,
though it may enable one to use, in any given case, a thinner oil,
with correspondingly reduced friction, by relying, as a reserve in
case of abnormal conditions, upon oiliness rather than upon excess
viscosity,
To return to the consideration of normal conditions, the main-
tenance of an adequate oil film necessitates efficient arrangements
both for the removal of the heat generated and for the continuous
replenishment of the oil in the bearing.
The heat is got rid of, to some extent, by the oil which forms the
actual oil film, but mostly either by conduction from the bearing
surfaces, or by excess oil which runs through or over the bearing
without actually forming the load-carrying film. The advantages
of forced lubrication are mainly due to the cooling effect of the
excess lubricant.
The supply of oil to the bearing is greatly facilitated by the
“ pumping ” action caused by alternating loads, it being found that
any given bearing will carry an alternating load considerably in
excess of the maximum steady unidirectional load. Again, a narrow
bearing loses a far greater proportion of its oil through side leakage
than does a wide one, so is correspondingly less efficient when subject
to “ natural ” lubrication, while with forced lubrication a narrow
bearing will carry a heavier continuous load per square inch of
projected area because of the greater quantity of oil which can be
circulated through it and therefore the better cooling. It is also
necessary that the surfaces should be of such a shape that the wedging
action, which maintains the oil film at the highly loaded parts of the
bearing, can take place, for the pressure which must exist in order
132 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
to carry the load is far in excess of any that a forced lubrication
system can supply.
Fortunately, journal bearings are naturally suitable, as explained
earlier, but with thrust collars special measures have to be taken,
as in the Michel bearing. However, in practically all cases, in so
far as high-speed internal-combustion engines are concerned, such
thrust loads as are involved are most conveniently dealt with by
the adoption of ball thrust races.
When conditions are too severe for even a molecular oil film to
survive, the surfaces come into actual metallic contact with one
another—that is to say, when the oil film becomes so thin that the
two surfaces come within the zone of molecular attraction, an
exceedingly high temperature is at once set up, resulting in local
fusion of the surfaces. In some cases such local fusion may, by
removing a high place in the surface of the bearing, relieve the
loading at this particular point and so permit of the re-formation of
the oil film. Unless this occurs, and the oil film re-forms imme-
diately, the surface fusion will spread until the bearing either seizes
solid or the bearing metal melts and runs out. When both bearing
surfaces are hard and of anything approaching the same melting
point, the surface fusion is generally accompanied by partial welding,
and the two surfaces become inextricably locked. When the
material forming one surface is relatively soft and has a low melting
point, as in the case of white metal, the bearing merely melts, either
locally or completely ; in the former case, as already pointed out,
local melting may be due to the existence of a high spot, and the
fusion of this high spot may at once relieve the cause of trouble and
permit of the restoration of the oil film in time to prevent any
further spread of surface fusion : this is possible because the melting
point of white metal is well below the boiling point of the lubricant.
Local fusion is a very common occurrence in white metal lined
bearings, especially when new and not too well fitted, and is often
quite harmless.
The intensity of heat flow when an oil film breaks down locally
is very surprising ; it is quite common to find two case-hardened
steel surfaces fused together locally and the temper of the surfaces
undisturbed within less than ½ in. from the point of fusion. This
corresponds to a temperature difference of something like 2500° F.
in ½ in.
The case of bearings submitted to very heavy loads and low
rubbing speeds is somewhat different. Here the time element
LUBRICATION AND BEARING WEAR 133
enters prominently into the question. Since at low speeds the
wedging action, tending to maintain the oil film, is very slow, the
effect of the pumping action, due to change of load, is of correspond-
ingly increased importance. There is abundant evidence that under
severe loads and favourable conditions even bronze bearings may be
-crushed without breaking down the oil film. So long as facilities
are available for the replenishment of the oil, and so long as the
rubbing velocity is such that the product of loading and rubbing
velocity does not exceed a certain figure—that is to say, so long as
the heat generated does not exceed the rate at which it can be dis-
sipated by replenishment with cool oil or by conduction—a journal
bearing will not fail from pressure. Failures of heavily loaded, slow-
moving journal bearings are almost invariably due either to an
interruption in the oil supply or more frequently to bending or dis-
tortion of one of the members, causing excessive local pressure and
heat flow. The only bearings in a high-speed internal-combustion
engine submitted to very heavy loading with low rubbing velocity
are the gudgeon-pin bearings. Experience has shown that when
the gudgeon-pin is supported in such a manner that it does not
distort appreciably through bending, maximum pressures up to
6000 lb. per square inch may quite safely be carried, without forced
lubrication and without perceptible wear.
W e a r of Bearings and Shafts.—In view of the fact that
most bearings are completely oil-borne, it is perhaps a little surprising
at first sight that wear should take place at all, since the two surfaces
never actually come into contact. The explanation appears to be
that all wear is due to the abrasive action of small particles of grit
carried by the oil. These particles, which are, for the most part, so
small that they cannot be removed by filtration, are carried by the
oil into the bearing and there embed themselves in the softer of the
two surfaces ; thus in a white metal lined bearing the particles of
grit invariably embed themselves in the soft white metal. Once
partially embedded they proceed to lap the shaft. It is clear that
only those particles of grit which project far enough from the softer
material to span the oil film and so actually touch the other member
can cause wear. Other things being equal, therefore, the rate of
wear depends upon the thickness of the oil film, which, in turn, de-
pends upon the pressure and temperature—the cooler the lubricant, or
the lighter the pressure, the greater is the thickness of the oil film and,
therefore, the greater the distance across which the particles of grit
must reach before they can come in contact with the harder member.
134 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
Again, the rate of wear depends upon the hardness of the sur-
faces of the materials. It is common knowledge that when a soft-
steel shaft runs in white-metal bearings it is the shaft and not the
bearing material which wears ; this is perfectly natural, since the
particles of grit will always tend to embed themselves in the softer
surface of the two and so proceed to cut or lap the other and harder
surface. In order to reduce wear it is desirable that the difference
in hardness between the two surfaces should be as large as possible :
thus in the case of a steel shaft running in white-metal bearings, the
softer the white metal the more readily will the particles of grit
embed themselves entirely out of harm's way, while the harder the
shaft the less readily will it submit to the cutting action of such
particles of grit as are not completely embedded.
All available evidence indicates that the once popular idea that
a hard white metal should be used, and that its surface should be
rendered even harder by hammering or driving a taper mandrel
through it, is quite erroneous—the surface of the white metal should
be as soft as is consistent with the necessary resistance to crushing.
In the case of two very hard surfaces, such as case-hardened steel
against cast-iron or hardened steel, very little wear occurs, the
probable explanation being that the hardness of both surfaces
exceeds that of the particles of grit, so that the latter are merely
ground up between the two surfaces and do not get any opportunity
of embedding themselves in either or of cutting them.
It has been observed that such bearing surfaces, even when
freely exposed to road dust, etc., do not wear readily, but that when
carborundum is introduced along with the lubricant very rapid
wear takes place.
It is when two surfaces, both relatively soft and of somewhat
similar hardness, are employed that the most rapid wear takes place.
A soft-steel shaft running in bronze bearings wears very rapidly
indeed, unless the load factor is so low as to permit of a very thick
oil film being maintained.
One very striking example of excessive wear between two sur-
faces of nearly similar hardness is to be found in the case of copper
aluminium alloys and phosphor-bronze. An alloy consisting of 88
per cent aluminium and 12 per cent copper affords an excellent
bearing material for hardened-steel shafts. It is light, which is
often important, is an excellent conductor of heat, and is readily
cast and machined. When, however, a phosphor-bronze shaft is
run in bearings of this aluminium alloy, the shaft, which is slightly
LUBRICATION AND BEARING WEAR 135
the harder of the two, wears away with almost incredible rapidity.
Similarly, experiments which the author has carried out with bronze
piston rings in an aluminium cylinder and with an aluminium piston
in a bronze-lined cylinder resulted, in the former case in the rings
wearing down to half their original thickness in eight hours, and in
the case of the bronze-lined cylinder the liner wore about 0·010 in.
oval in a run of twelve hours. In neither case did the aluminium
show any appreciable wear.
Again, a soft-steel shaft, running in a copper-aluminium bearing,
wears away very rapidly.
Probably the worst possible results are to be found when two
similar and relatively soft materials are used for the two members of
a bearing, for then not only is the difference in surface hardness
reduced to zero, but the opportunities for welding together in the
event of a failure of the oil film and consequent local fusion are at a
maximum.
In the case of cast-iron or hardened steel, both surfaces are so
hard as to be very little affected by grit, but, in the event of a
breakdown of the oil film, the two are very liable to become
welded.
Experience with aluminium pistons has shown :
(1) That when these are fitted in soft-steel cylinders the cylinder
bore wears very rapidly;
(2) When fitted in hard-steel cylinders—0·4 carbon —the wear
is very slight;
(3) When fitted in cast-iron cylinders finished by grinding, wear
of the cylinder bore takes place if the grinding material has not been
thoroughly removed. Such wear does not take place when the
cylinders are reamed or when lapped after grinding.
Maximum Pressures on Bearings.—So far as high-speed
bearings are concerned—that is to say, when the rubbing velocity
exceeds about 8 ft. per second—the load factor only, that is, the pro-
duct of load and speed, need be taken into account; the maximum
pressure, so long as it is not high enough to distort or crush the
bearing material, is of little moment, since it is not applied for a long
enough period to have any influence on the conditions of lubrication,
Limiting Load Factor.—The highest load factor which can
safely be carried by a bearing depends upon :
(1) The system of lubrication, whether forced, natural, or fed
with a measured quantity of fresh oil.
(2) The viscosity of the oil
136 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
(3) The facilities available for conducting away the heat
generated in the bearing.
Under the conditions ruling in high-speed engines in which the
circulation of oil is limited to that with which the piston scraper
rings can cope, with forced lubrication, and good facilities for dis-
persing the heat, load factors as high as 30,000 lb. ft. per second can
be safely carried in a journal bearing with alternating load. With
such a load factor the rate of wear is of course considerable, but
there are many examples of crankshaft centre bearings in aero-
engines with load factors as high and even higher than this, but
about 12,000 to 15,000 lb. ft. per second appears to be the upper
limit of sustained load for a splash- or trough-lubricated bearing.
Where very high rubbing velocities are involved, much higher
load factors can be carried when floating bushes are employed. Such
bushes, floating freely between the two members, rotate at an inter-
mediate speed, so that the rubbing velocity between either face is
halved; also they permit of a much greater circulation of cooling
oil through them. Under such conditions the load factor may be
increased by 50 per cent without imperilling the bearing.
Maximum Load.—Where the rubbing velocity is low the only
limit to the maximum load is set by the rigidity of the members.
There is no danger of the oil film being broken down by pressure
alone, provided there is scope for natural replenishment. When
serious distortion takes place, the load factor may be increased
locally—that is to say, the pressure may all be concentrated on one
point in the bearing; and since the rubbing velocity is the same at
all points, it follows that the product of pressure and rubbing speed
may be excessive at one point, causing rapid local heat flow and
ultimate breakdown of the oil film.
Load Factor and Wear.—Other things being equal, the rate
of wear may be taken as being almost directly proportional to the load
factor. It depends, however, very largely on the facilities for cooling;
thus, in the case of crankshaft bearings, for equal load factors with
forced lubrication the rate of wear on the main journal bearings is
more rapid than on the crankpin bearings, because the crankpin
bearings are always better served and therefore cooled with oil,
since it is flung out to them by centrifugal force.
Oscillating Bearings.—When the motion is oscillating only,
the wear on the members is no longer uniform; this objection can,
however, usually be overcome by allowing the harder member to
float freely—thus, in the case of a gudgeon pin, if this is fixed, either
LUBRICATION AND BEARING WEAR 137
to the piston or the connecting-rod, local wear will take place, but if
allowed to float freely in bearings, both in the connecting-rod and
piston, local wear on the pin can be avoided; further, a much heavier
load can be carried, because the rubbing velocity between any of the
members is halved.
From the above considerations, it is clear that, other things being
equal:
(1) The friction of a bearing, when freely lubricated, is nearly
proportional to the load factor on the bearing, and depends, though
to a lesser extent, upon the nature of the surfaces—the smoother the
surface the lower the friction.
(2) The rate of wear is also proportional to the load factor.
(3) When oil of higher viscosity is used, the friction is greatly
increased at first; but on account of the greater amount of energy
dissipated in shearing the oil film, the heat flow is greater, the tem-
perature is therefore higher, with the result that, after running some
time, the reduction in viscosity due to the higher temperature
nearly compensates for the higher initial viscosity, and so the con-
ditions as regards friction and the thickness of the oil film ultimately
become nearly similar. They do not become quite similar, because
owing to the higher temperature of the bearing the rate of dissipation
by radiation and conduction is greater, consequently the bearing
never reaches so high a temperature relative to the viscosity of the
oil as when a thinner oil is used.
T y p e s of Oils.—The oils used in internal-combustion engines
fall into two main divisions—mineral oils and those of animal or
vegetable origin. “ Compounded ” oils, and mixtures of the two
types, are also used,
Mineral oils, which are composed of various hydrocarbons,
mostly of the paraffin series, are by far the most frequently used.
This is partly because of their lower cost, and also on account of
their chemical stability, which renders them less prone either to
carbonization or to oxidation or gumming. On the other hand, they
do not appear to possess the property of “ oiliness ” to the same
extent as vegetable or animal oils. Except in cases where bearings
are very severely loaded and near their limit, mineral oils are
probably the most suitable, and so far as the author has been able
to determine by experiment there is no advantage to be gained from
the use of vegetable or compounded oils in any well designed and
properly lubricated engine.
For ball or roller bearings a pure mineral oil would appear pre-
138 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
ferable, since such an oil is less liable to form corrosive acids in
service.
Animal oils, such as whale and lard oils, and vegetable oils, such
as rape or castor oils, are largely composed of the esters of fatty
acids. Their chief virtue lies in their high “ oiliness,” which is of
use in cases where the oil supply is necessarily limited, as in crank-
case compression two-stroke engines, or where severe local over-loads,
due to distortion, etc., are probable. Their defects lie in their com-
parative instability, which renders them liable to become gummy
and acid by exposure to the air, and also causes them to carbonize
more rapidly than mineral oils. They are also expensive, and, the
supply being necessarily limited, would become more so if their
employment became general. Their use, therefore, should be, and
generally is, limited to exceptionally high-duty engines, and a few
other special cases,
Carburation
The function of the carburettor is not, as is so often supposed,
to gasify the fuel, but rather to provide constant proportions of
finely divided liquid fuel and air under all conditions of speed or
load. The gasification or vaporization of the liquid fuel takes place
in part in the induction system, and in part in the cylinder of the
engine.
The requirements of a good carburettor are that it shall—
(1) Provide a constant predetermined ratio of fuel and air at all
speeds and at all loads, under constant conditions.
(2) Pulverize the fuel as finely as possible under all conditions.
(3) That when the throttle is opened suddenly it shall provide,
momentarily, an over-rich mixture, for reasons which will be ex-
plained later.
(4) Provide an over-rich mixture for starting or running idle at
very slow speeds.
(5) Be provided with automatic or at least readily controllable
means of enriching the mixture throughout the whole or at least
the lower part of the range, until the carburettor and induction
system are fully warmed up.
(6) Be simple to adjust in the first instance and unlikely to get
out of adjustment in use,
Probably no carburettor yet made conforms to all these con-
ditions, though they are not impossible of compliance.
CARBURATION 139
It is worth while to examine each of these conditions separately
and to see what their compliance involves.
The first consideration, namely, that of providing a uniform
mixture strength under all conditions, or of “ metering,” as it is
generally termed, is the basic problem in carburettor design. The
simplest possible expression of a carburettor is a jet to which liquid
fuel is supplied at a constant level, such jet being situated in the
centre of a venturi nozzle, or choke-tube, through which the whole
Fig. 58
of the air passes on its way to the engine. The depression in the
choke-tube is therefore at all times a function of the I.H.P. of
the engine, and this depression is relied upon to draw petrol from
the jet. Unfortunately, the laws governing the flow of liquid from
a jet, and of air through a venturi throat, are not the same, for the
one medium is a liquid and the other is a gas. As the speed at
which the air flows through the choke-tube increases, so the flow
of fuel also increases, but at a considerably greater rate, with the
result that, if the proportionate sizes of jet and choke-tube diameters
are chosen to give a “ correct ” mixture at any one speed, the
mixture will be too weak at a lower speed and too rich at a higher
speed, as shown approximately in fig. 58,
140 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
To this simple form of carburettor some means of compensation
must therefore be provided, and for most purposes it must be auto-
matic. There are numerous methods of compensating, but they
may be divided broadly into two main groups:
(1) In which means are provided for supplying, automatically,
additional air as the power output increases.
(2) In which means are provided for supplying automatically
additional fuel as the power output decreases.
Intermediate between these groups are methods providing means
for checking the flow of fuel through the jet by obstructing it by
means of a reversed air-flow, etc.
The first group includes all
such devices as automatic extra
air valves operated by suction.
Broadly speaking, these are not
very satisfactory, because they
involve the addition of a con-
stantly moving part, which can-
not readily bo lubricated, and
unless the movement of this part
is controlled by an efficient dash-
pot serious wear is liable to occur;
on the other hand, if it is con-
trolled by a dash-pot, then its
Fig. 59.—Diagrammatic Arrangement,
Zenith Carburettor movement will be somewhat
sluggish, though this is not
necessarily a disadvantage in view of the third requirement stated
previously. In any case, however, it is always desirable to avoid
the use of an additional moving part if possible.
The second group includes those carburettors in which com-
pensation is effected by means of an additional jet fed by gravity
from the float chamber and open to atmosphere; the flow of such a
jet is unaffected by the depression in the choke-tube. Carburettors
belonging to this group can be adjusted to give fairly accurate
metering under all conditions of speed or load; and since they
contain no moving parts to wear or possibly to stick, they are, in
the author's opinion, to be preferred. The basic principle of this
type of carburettor is illustrated in fig. 59, while fig. 60 shows approxi-
mately the rate of flow from either jet. It will be seen that, as the
power output and therefore the depression in the choke-tube in-
creases., the flow of liquid from the main jet increases rapidly, while
CARBURATION 141
that from the gravity-fed jet, which has a constant head of only
about one and a half or two inches, remains substantially constant.
Its proportional flow therefore decreases. It is obviously possible
by a suitable selection of jet sizes to keep the fuel air ratio very
nearly constant over a wide range of speed and load.
In addition to these general groups there are large numbers of
purely mechanical devices whereby either the fuel supply, the air
supply, or in some cases both, are varied mechanically by the move-
ment of the throttle level. Such devices cannot possibly afford true
compensation for all conditions of speed or load, since no change
can be effected without movement of the throttle. For certain
purposes, however, such, for example, as marine work in which the
torque and speed vary in a fixed relation, mechanically compensated
carburettors are probably quite satisfactory. The advantages of
this form are that a mechanically compensated carburettor can be
made very cheaply; it has only one jet to look after and no adjust-
ment which can be deranged. It will fulfil the requirements of a
marine engine, but certainly will not give accurate metering when
applied to engines in which the speed or torque may vary without
movement of the throttle.
142 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
The second condition, namely, thorough pulverization, is not at
all easy to comply with. It is, however, an exceedingly important
factor, because it is most desirable from every point of view to keep
the suction temperature as low as possible. Whether the fuel enters
the cylinder in a liquid or a gaseous state, it will, so long as it is finely
divided, be completely evaporated after its entry to the cylinder, on
coming in contact with the hot residual products therein.
In a previous chapter it has been shown that it is always very
desirable to keep the suction temperature as low as possible, and to
this end it is often preferable to allow the fuel to enter in a finely
divided but still liquid state, and so to make use of the latent heat
of evaporation of the liquid to lower the temperature in the cylinder.
This, however, is possible only when the liquid is very finely pul-
verized, and when the induction system is so arranged that reason-
able uniformity of distribution can be obtained without too much
differentiation due to the unequal inertia of air and liquid particles;
if delivered in coarse drops, these will coalesce and precipitate on the
walls of the induction system, finally entering the cylinder in gulps
of liquid, which will never evaporate. These pass through the
cylinder unburnt, while a proportion of the liquid fuel will find its
way past the piston and into the crankcase, where it will contaminate
the lubricant,
In most carburettors the velocity of the air past the jet is relied
upon to pulverize the fuel, and, for this purpose, every effort is made
to obtain a high velocity at the least possible sacrifice in power
output.
Unfortunately, however, pulverization becomes of most import-
ance when the engine is running at low speeds or reduced loads, i.e.
when the quantity of air passing, and therefore, its velocity, are at
a minimum. With a venturi orifice of the best possible design the
volumetric efficiency, and therefore the power output of the engine,
will be penalized severely if the air velocity exceeds 400 ft. per
second, and the author has found that to obtain a good compromise
between maximum power output on the one hand and good
economy on reduced loads on the other, the mean velocity through
the choke-tube should not exceed 400 ft. per second when four
cylinders are drawing from a single carburettor, 330 ft. per second
for three cylinders, and about 250 ft. per second for single cylinders,
the lower velocity in the latter cases being permissible because:
(a) With less than four cylinders the suction is intermittent and
the maximum velocity therefore considerably greater.
CARBURATION 143
(6) The fewer the number of cylinders drawing from any one
carburettor the shorter the total length of induction pipe.
To obtain better pulverization one or other of two methods may
be employed:
(1) A very small choke may be used and the bulk of the air
admitted elsewhere, the bulk supply of air being cut off as the load
as all road vehicle engines and all engines under the control of a
sensitive governor, it is most important that, on the sudden opening
of the throttle, the carburettor shall deliver momentarily an over-
rich mixture. The reason for this is as follows:
When an engine is running light or at a very much reduced load
the pressure in the induction system may be only about 5 lb. per
square inch absolute. At this pressure and even at quite low tem-
peratures almost the whole of the fuel flowing through the induction
system will be evaporated and the walls of the induction passages
will be dry. If now the throttle be opened suddenly the pressure
in the system will at once rise from, say, 5 lb. per square inch to
nearly 15 lb. per square inch absolute, while the temperature con-
ditions will remain unaltered. Now, although the fuel may evapor-
ate completely when under a pressure of only 5 lb. per square inch,
CARBURATION 145
when the pressure is raised by nearly three times, this will no longer
be the case, unless the induction system be very hot. The immediate
result is that the first portion of the fuel admitted after the throttle
is opened deposits at once on the walls of the induction system, and,
unless the mixture supplied by the carburettor is very rich, that which
reaches the cylinders is far too weak to burn; this state of affairs
will continue until sufficient fuel has been supplied thoroughly to
wet the walls of the induction system, for when working under full
throttle conditions the whole of the walls are normally lined with a
layer of liquid, the thickness of which depends both on the tem-
perature of the walls themselves and upon the velocity of flow
through them. The practical effect of this is that, when the throttle
is opened suddenly after idling, the engine will splutter and backfire
or even stop firing altogether for a few revolutions; if now the
throttle be closed again, the half-formed wet layer will immediately
re-evaporate and the engine will run steadily again; by repeatedly
opening and closing the throttle the necessary wet layer can be
built up gradually. To obviate this difficulty one or other of three
expedients must be adopted:
(1) The carburettor must be set to deliver, at all times, an over-
rich mixture.
(2) The walls of the induction system must be maintained at so
high a temperature that little if any liquid fuel can lie upon them,
even at atmospheric density,
(3) The carburettor must be provided with some means whereby
a little liquid fuel is stored up when running idle, and delivered to
the induction system immediately the throttle is opened.
The first of these may be dismissed at once as altogether too
extravagant. The second method can, at best, be but a partial
remedy only, though a certain amount of pre-heating is essential
in the case of present-day petrols, whose mean volatility is low and
most of which have a final boiling point of over 400° F. To raise the
induction system, however, to such a temperature as will prevent
entirely any condensation even of the highest boiling fractions is
practically out of the question, and would, in any event, so reduce
the power output, increase the tendency to detonate, and, by rais-
ing the whole cycle temperature, so lower the efficiency of the engine,
as to be quite outside the range of practical politics.
The third method, namely, the momentary supply of an over-
rich mixture, meets the case satisfactorily; it costs nothing in
power output, and permits both of working normally with the most
(E 240) 11
146 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
economical mixture strength, and of reducing the heat input to the
induction system.
In the case of carburettors using a gravity-fed compensating jet,
this condition can be met by providing a well having a capacity
sufficient to supply a 100 per cent excess of fuel for, say, 3 or 4
cycles, and fed from the compensating jet. When running on full
throttle this well is normally dry, but when idling the well fills up
to nearly the level in the float chamber. So soon as the throttle
Fig. 67.—Section of Cylinder and Head, 100 B.H.P. Engine. 8¼-inch bore, 9½-inch stroke,
Speed, 1150 R.P.M.
Fig. 68.—Section of Cylinder showing loose hardened Steel Liner sealed by Rubber Ring
out the outer webs of the shank at their junction with the big-end
eye, in order to distribute the loads transmitted down them.
Another frequent source of weakness in connecting-rod design
is the lack of provision of sufficient abutment for the two halves
of the connecting-rod bearing. The cap of the rod should be con-
sidered as though it were an arch loaded at its centre, but in tension
not in compression. Viewed in this light it is obvious that unless
the arch has a wide abutment it will tend to close in and so nip the
crankpin at the sides. In high-speed engines it is common practice,
Fig. 72 Fig. 73
Fig. 75 Fig. 76
Fig. 77
Fig. 86
below that of the troughs. Unless there is room to fit a very large
diameter disc, the permissible range of oil level becomes dangerously
narrow.
To sum up : There can be no doubt but that wherever a high
duty is required, involving either heavy pressures or high rubbing
velocities, or both, forced lubrication alone can be relied upon, since
this system provides the oil cooling so essential where high load
factors have to be dealt with. The one and only objection to forced
lubrication is the increased rate of wear due to the large quantity of
extremely fine abrasive material introduced into the bearing. This
objection can best be met by :
(1) The provision of ample settling capacity in the base chamber
of the engine.
(2) The employment of materials for the bearings giving the
maximum possible difference in surface hardness.
(3) The provision of centrifugal filters or separators, though
not much is known as yet as to the efficacy of these devices ;
ordinary filtering is, however, of little use from the point of view
of wear.
Measured feed lubrication is no doubt very satisfactory for lightly
loaded bearings and gives the minimum of wear, but it involves the
use of many oil pumps and provides no reserve capacity ; as such it
is rather dangerous, since the stoppage of any one pump in the group
may prove disastrous. Trough lubrication is, on the whole, a good
compromise for engines in which the duty is comparatively light.
It tends to show a lower rate of wear than the forced system, though
higher than the measured oil system. It has the advantage of pro-
viding a very fair reserve capacity, and is on the whole a fairly reliable
and satisfactory system once its limitations are realized.
CHAPTER VIII
VALVES AND VALVE GEAR
The timing and operation of the valves are problems which
require very careful consideration, for they are factors which have
a powerful influence on the performance of the engine, and as such
deserve the most careful consideration. Since the timing and
opening periods must be decided upon before the cam gear can be
designed, it will be well to consider this side of the problem first.
The features to be aimed at as regards the inlet valves are :
(1) To induce the maximum possible weight of charge into the
cylinder at full loads.
(2) To expend the least possible energy in the process at all
loads.
(3) To produce the maximum of turbulence during the period of
entry.
As regards the exhaust valves, the problem is merely that of
getting rid of the exhaust with the least possible back pressure and
the least distress to the valve gear. So far as the exhaust valve
timing is concerned, there is very little to be said except that owing
to the high terminal pressure at the time when the exhaust valve
is first opened, the velocity past this valve is very high indeed and
the heat flow at this period very intense. The high pressure of
release, however, usually provides sufficient kinetic energy to
counteract the friction and inertia in the exhaust pipe, so that a high
mean velocity, both through the valve opening itself and through
the ports, &c., is permissible without introducing any appreciable
back-pressure, provided, of course, that there is no great resistance
imposed on the flow of the gases at the outer end of the exhaust
pipe. On the ground of heat dissipation it is desirable, and on the
grounds of back-pressure it is permissible, to use small exhaust
valves and to work with a high velocity through the valve opening
and ports. In practice it is perfectly satisfactory to work with a
velocity through the exhaust ports 50 per cent greater than that
200
VALVES AND VALVE GEAR 201
through the inlet, provided of course that the latter is not already
excessive. In a previous chapter it has been shown that, for all-
round performance, the best mean velocity through the inlet valves
is in the region of 150 ft. per second. The mean velocity through
the exhaust valves may, therefore, be in the region of 220 feet per
second.
In the case of the exhaust valves, it is particularly desirable, from
every point of view, to use small valves with a high lift, because, in
the first place, an exhaust valve can only get rid of the bulk of its heat
through the valve seating, for the heat carried away along the stem
forms only a very small proportion of the whole. It follows therefore
that the smaller the diameter of the valve and the greater its lift,
the better chance there is of keeping it reasonably cool. In this
connection it is necessary to emphasize that, although the maximum
area of opening is attained in the case of a flat-seated valve when
the lift of the valve is equal to approximately one-quarter of the
port diameter, it does not in the least follow that this should repre-
sent the maximum lift, because, in the first place, the valve is fully
open only for a small proportion of its total opening period, and
in the second, the orifice coefficient increases rapidly as the lift
is increased; or, in other words, for a given pressure difference a
greater weight of gas will pass through a given area of opening when
that area is provided by a small valve with a high lift rather than
by a large valve with a low lift. From these arguments it will be
seen that, wherever possible, the total lift of an exhaust valve should
always be at least equal to, and preferably greater than, one-
quarter of the diameter of the port.
Again, the exhaust valve, unlike the inlet valve, has to be lifted
from its seat against a pressure which may amount to anything up
to 80 lb, per square inch, and for this reason also it is obvious that
the diameter should be kept as small as possible in order to reduce
both noise and wear and tear,
From every point of view, therefore, it is highly desirable to use
the smallest possible diameter of exhaust valve and a high lift.
As regards the timing of the exhaust valve, two factors must be
taken into account. It must be opened sufficiently early to permit
of the exhaust pressure falling almost to atmospheric before the
return stroke of the piston commences, and it must be held open
sufficiently late to permit of the residual exhaust gas escaping right
up to the very end of the stroke. It is impossible to give hard and
fast figures for the most suitable setting for an exhaust valve, because
202 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
this must necessarily depend upon so many variable factors, such
as the mean gas velocity through the valve port and the rate of
acceleration of the valve. For a mean gas velocity, however, of
about 200 feet per second through the valve port and a normal
rate of acceleration, the best setting, in the author's experience, is
that the exhaust valve should already have travelled through
50 per cent of its total lift when the piston is at the bottom dead
centre and should be still 5 per cent open when the piston is at the
top centre. The actual point at which the valve leaves and returns
to its seating is practically meaningless as a guide to the valve
setting.
With regard to the inlet valve setting, we have to take into
account a number of factors which need not concern us in the case
of the exhaust valve. Also we have to be much more careful,
because not only does the volumetric efficiency, and therefore the
power output, of the engine depend very largely upon the inlet valve
setting, but also the negative work during the suction stroke may
be unnecessarily high. We have to consider how many cylinders
are drawing from any one source of supply and also how far our
efforts to obtain maximum power output should be subordinated
to the attainment of economy on reduced loads. It will be best to
consider first the conditions as they apply to a single-cylinder engine
for full power, and, later, to note what modifications are necessary
to meet other conditions. As in the case of the exhaust valves, we
ought to use a relatively small valve with a high lift, though for
different reasons. In this case we want to obtain the maximum
possible turbulence at the minimum expenditure of energy, there-
fore we require the highest possible orifice coefficient. For full-load
running, in particular, we want to get the highest possible charging
efficiency, and to achieve this we want to obtain a high velocity in
the valve passage during the earlier part of the suction stroke, and
to make use of the kinetic energy we have acquired during this
period thoroughly to fill up the cylinder towards the end of the
piston's stroke. To this end we require to open the valve rather
gradually at first in relation to the piston's movement, to keep it
as wide open as possible towards the end of the stroke, and to shut
it as quickly as possible after the end. This does not necessitate
the use of an unsymmetrical cam, as may at first sight appear, but
it depends rather upon the angular setting of the cam in relation to
the crankshaft. To illustrate the point:
Fig. 91 shows an ordinary symmetrical constant acceleration valve
VALVES AND VALVE GEAR 203
lift diagram plotted against crankshaft degrees where 0° represents
the inner centre and 180° the outward centre of the piston.
of the piston throughout its stroke (assuming in both cases that the
ratio of connecting-rod length to crankthrow is 3·6 : 1).
Fig. 94.—Equivalent Gas Velocity through Inlet Valve in relation to Piston Displacement
(2) When the. inlet valve closes and the high velocity flow of gas
towards the cylinder is stopped more or less abruptly, a reaction
takes place, with the result that the air flows back through the
carburettor and some fuel is liable to be blown out and wasted.
If, now, it is desirable to sacrifice maximum power for the sake
of better fuel economy, it will be preferable to extend the period of
opening of the inlet valve by about 20°, as shown in figs. 95 and 96,
to allow it to open considerably earlier and to close a trifle later, the
former in order to reduce the pumping losses and the latter to give
more time to fill up the cylinder at the lower velocity. In this case,
Fig. 95.—Valve Opening Diagram with Period extended 20° of Crank Angle
although the opening period of the valve is 20° longer and the actual
effective opening area is considerably greater, yet the maximum
power output will be slightly less.
The above considerations hold good only when the carburettor
is placed, as it always should be in all single-cylinder engines, reason-
ably close to the inlet valve port. When any considerable length of
induction pipe is interposed between the carburettor and the valve
port, pressure oscillations of considerable magnitude will be set up,
and these will tend to surcharge the cylinder at certain speeds and
to starve it at others, while at all times they will tend to increase
the blow back through the carburettor.
When working on reduced loads, by throttling, we are no longer
206 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
concerned with trying to fill up the cylinder, and oar aim then becomes
to maintain turbulence as far as possible and to reduce the fluid
pumping losses. So far as the former is concerned, we can only
rely on using the smallest possible valves, upon keeping the orifice
coefficient as high as we can,
and upon ensuring that the
gases have as unobstructed
an entry to the cylinder as
possible after passing the
valve. Another point of im-
portance is the position of
the throttle. If this is close
up to the valve port, so that
Fig 97.—Indicator Diagram, Suction Stroke there is little capacity be-
tween the throttle and the
valve, then it is clear that during the idle strokes, this capacity will
fill up to atmospheric pressure, or very nearly so, in which case the
inlet should open early in the stroke and the suction diagram will be
as shown in fig. 97; if, on the other hand, there is a considerable
capacity between the throttle and the inlet port, then, at the com-
mencement of the outward stroke, the pressure in the cylinder will be
approximately atmospheric while that in the port will be considerably
below atmosphere, with the result that so soon as the inlet valve opens
the pressure in the cylinder will be reduced by gas flowing out through
the inlet valve, and there will be some unnecessary negative work
on the piston, as shown in the diagram, fig. 98. In such a case it will
be preferable not to open the inlet valve until the gases in the cylinder
have been expanded down to a pressure corresponding to that in
the port; this will give a diagram such as shown in fig, 99, which should
be compared with the previous figure. It is not of course practicable
VALVES AND VALVE GEAR 207
while, on the other hand, if there were no capacity, then the mean
velocity through the carburettor during the suction stroke would be
just four times as great and the pulverization of the fuel corre-
spondingly better.
The case of the single-cylinder engine is relatively simple as
compared with that when several cylinders draw from one source of
supply. Also it is difficult to treat the problem of valve timing and
distribution separately, for they are so closely interdependent;
together they form an intensely complex problem, and, probably,
the least understood of all problems connected with the modern
internal-combustion engine.
We will, however, assume for the time being that we are dealing
with a homogeneous mixture of gas and air flowing in the induction
pipe, and endeavour to see how best to deal with certain of the more
common cases.
CASE 1. Two cylinders with cranks at 360° and even firing.
208 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
2. Two cylinders with cranks at 180° and consecutive firing.
3. Four cylinders with, cranks at 180°.
4. Six cylinders with cranks at 120° fed by two carburettors,
each distributing to a group of three cylinders.
5. Six cylinders with cranks at 120° fed by one carburettor.
So far as the exhaust valve is concerned the conditions are sub-
stantially the same in all cases, and it is the inlet valve timing alone
which need be considered.
CASE 1. This is simply two single-cylinder engines operating
alternately ; there is no overlapping, and the problem is the same
as that of the single-cylinder engine.
CASE 2. This is always a very difficult one to deal with. Probably
the only satisfactory solution is to provide two separate carburettors
and two exhaust pipes and so treat as two separate single-cylinder
engines.
When only one carburettor is fitted from which the two cylinders
draw consecutively, the best method is probably to employ very late
opening inlet valves in order to avoid overlap. It is obvious that if
the first piston sets up a high velocity in the induction system and
relies upon the kinetic energy so acquired to fill up the cylinder at
the end of the stroke, then it is fatal to allow the second inlet valve
to open until the first cylinder is completely filled, for the energy
acquired will be expended simply in forcing gas into the second
cylinder at the commencement of its suction stroke when it is not
required, while the first cylinder will be starved. So long as there
is any appreciable overlapping in the period of opening of the inlet
valves the first cylinder will always be starved while the second will
be surcharged. On the other hand, to avoid overlapping and yet
keep the inlet valves open long enough to allow the cylinders to fill
up is difficult and necessitates a very late opening indeed. Also the
short period introduces difficulty in the case of high-speed engines in
regard to operation. Again, such very late opening as is necessary
to obtain equality between the cylinders will render the suction of
the engine very noisy when running on full load, for this is always an
objectionable feature of very late opening inlet valves. It would
appear that on the whole the best method of dealing with this very
unsatisfactory form of engine is, in the case of comparatively slow-
speed engines, to open the inlet valves very late ; and in the case of
high-speed engines, to employ two altogether separate carburettors
and throttles. In either case it is most desirable to fit two separate
exhaust pipes, for overlap between the exhaust valves cannot possibly
VALVES AND VALVE GEAR 209
be avoided, and unless two pipes are fitted, cylinder No. 1 will dis-
charge high pressure and highly heated exhaust products into No. 2
just before the completion of the exhaust stroke, thus filling the
clearance space of this cylinder with exhaust gas under pressure, at
the one point in the cycle at which the presence of highly heated gas
is most undesirable. In some instances a fairly uniform power out-
put may be obtained from such an engine because the starving of
No. 1 is balanced by the drowning out with exhaust products of No. 2,
with the result that on full throttle both cylinders give a much reduced
but more or less equal performance, though in such cases the evils
no longer balance one another on reduced loads, when the presence of
an excess of exhaust products is more than usually objectionable.
CASE 3. Four cylinders drawing from a single carburettor.
Except that the flow in the branch pipe from the carburettor is
relatively constant, this case is almost as difficult to deal with as the
last. So far as valve timing is concerned, either all overlap of the
inlet valves must be avoided, with the resultant difficulties of an
unduly short opening period and noise when running on full throttle,
or a certain amount of irregularity, coupled with a reduction in the
maximum power output due to robbery of one cylinder by another,
must be tolerated. In a four-cylinder engine., however, the branch
pipes from the throttle to the several cylinders are generally of con-
siderable length, and in some cases use can be made of the kinetic
energy in these branches to fill any one cylinder despite attempted,
robbery by another, more especially so in the case of very high-speed
engines. So far as throttled conditions are concerned, this case
may be regarded as one in which the capacity between the throttle
and the inlet valves is infinite, and, therefore, in which a late opening
inlet valve is definitely desirable. On the whole, it would appear
that, for this type of engine, it is best to use very late opening and
relatively early closing valves in the case of moderate-speed engines
and those which operate normally at a comparatively low load
factor, because this will tend to give more economical running at
reduced loads; and to use comparatively early opening and late
closing valves for engines which are normally run at very high speeds
or at a high load factor despite the fact that for maximum power at
comparatively low speeds this setting will be inferior to the late
opening and earlier closing.
Probably the best results from every point of view can be obtained
when two independent induction systems are used, one feeding the
inside, and the other the outside pair of cylinders. This arrange-
( E 246) 15
210 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
ment eliminates all question of overlap, and has been applied by
the author in the case of several four-cylinder engines designed to
give a very high power output and economy.
The once common practice of permitting overlap between the
inlet and exhaust valves of the same cylinder is certainly not to be
recommended. The arguments for providing overlap in this manner
are (1) to make use of the kinetic energy of the gases in the exhaust
pipe to scavenge the cylinder and so obtain a greater weight of “ live ”
gas in the cylinder when running at full power ; and
(2) To lengthen the period of valve opening, with a view to
reducing the stresses on the valve mechanism at very high speeds.
Fig. 100.— Indicator Diagram at 1500 R.P.M. shows Pressure Variations during Exhaust Stroke
case will therefore be = 1080 ft, per second per second. This,
however, makes no allowance for friction in the guide, but even after
making a generous allowance
for this factor it will be seen
that the case for all moder-
ate-speed engines, when the
valves are directly operated
and the intervening gear is
not heavy, is easily met by
the provision of a spring of
only just sufficient strength
to prevent the exhaust valve
from being sucked open
when running idle.
The highest permissible
rate of acceleration while
the valve is under direct
cam control depends upon Fig. 102.—Roller Ended Follower
the type of follower used.
This may be either a roller, a curved slipper, or a plain flat-footed or
“mushroom”; examples of each of which are shown in figs. 102,
103 and 104. At first sight, it might
appear that the roller is the most
satisfactory form, but on investigation
it will be found that this is far from
being the case, and for three reasons :
(1) The whole of the load is taken
on the roller pin whose projected area
is necessarily very small, this pin
cannot conveniently be pressure lubri-
cated, and its facilities for obtaining
replenishment of oil are very poor,
hence it is easily overloaded.
(2) Owing to the changes in surface
velocity as the cam revolves and to
the inertia of the roller itself, it
follows that the latter cannot truly
Fig. 103.—Slipper Type Follower
roll, but must skid, and that just at
the period when the pressure on it is at a maximum.
(3) The use of a roller greatly increases the weight of the tappet
218 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
gear. For moderate-speed engines, when the loads are comparatively
light, the use of a roller is permissible, but it should never be used in
very high-speed engines for the reasons stated above.
The second type, namely, the curved slipper, is better than the
roller, in so far that it in-
volves no bearing which
may become overloaded and
break down, but it has the
disadvantage that it presents
only a very small area of
rubbing surface against the
cam, and so is liable to
wear. Both the roller and
the slipper “ skid,” but the
latter skids much more
rapidly and presents only
Fig. 104—Mushroom Type Follower
one face, while the former
skids slowly and presents a continual change of face. Against this,
however, must be set the fact that both the radius and the width
of the slipper can be much greater than that of any roller. On
the whole, the roller has the advantage on the score of wear so long
as the pressure is light and the pin bearing is not overloaded, while
the slipper scores when the rate of acceleration, and therefore the
pressure, is high, for though it may wear considerably and therefore
require renewal, it will not break down altogether.
The third type, namely, the flat-footed or “ mushroom ” tappet,
is, in the author's opinion, the most satisfactory of the three, but it,
too, has certain limitations, for it necessitates the use of a cam with a
larger base circle, which cannot always be provided. Followers of this
type should always be offset sideways, so that the sliding of the cam
tends to rotate them. Under these conditions practically the whole
surface of the flat foot is made use of, and the wear is less than with
either of the other two types, while there is no pin bearing to be over-
loaded. It has all the advantages of the roller type in that it con-
stantly presents a new surface in contact with the cam, and all the
advantages of the slipper type, in that it has no bearing to fail, while
the conditions as regards lubrication are ideal. The one practical
objection is that it is usually impossible to employ a low rate of posi-
tive acceleration when, if ever, this is desired; hence it is difficult
to obtain such quiet running as with the other types, though with
careful design the difference is very slight. With flat-footed tappets
VALVES AND VALVE GEAR 219
Fig. 108
Fig. 111.
known. The deflection per coil (d) may be read off from the de-
flection graph (fig. 114). The total deflection (D) being already
fixed (see figure for force/lift graph) the number of effective coils is
and the total number + 2.
Fig. 117.—Curve showing Drop in Friction Torque as contaminated Oil is replaced by fresh Oil
case the friction losses of the bearings and auxiliaries and the fluid
pumping losses had all been ascertained separately, and were found
to be equivalent to a mean pressure of 6·5 lb. per square inch at
1200 R.P.M. Deducting these, the piston friction is as shown in
the curve, fig. 118, from which it will be observed that it falls from the
equivalent of 9·5 lb. per square inch immediately after the fuel is
cut off to 6·5 lb. per square inch after ten minutes, by which time
it may be presumed that practically the whole of the carbonized oil
on the cylinder walls has been replaced by fresh oil-
Influence of Temperature on Piston Friction,—As might
be expected, the friction of the piston is largely dependent upon the
PISTON DESIGN 237
temperature of the lubricant, and since the temperature of the latter
is determined primarily by that of the cylinder walls to which it
clings, it follows that the friction is controlled very largely by the
temperature of the cooling water. In Chapter III, when dealing
with the influence of cylinder temperature upon power and economy,
it was shown that the indicated horse-power of an engine decreases
with increase of temperature, because the reduction in the weight
of charge, far more than outweighs the slight gain due to reduced
heat losses. In practice the brake-horse-power and economy of an
engine generally increase with increase of temperature, because the
Fig. 118—Curve showing Drop in Piston Friction alone from fig. 117
Fig. 119.—Motoring Tests, showing Change of Friction with Temperature at 900 R.P.M.
per square inch or 3 per cent. This agreed fairly closely with actual
results obtained when running under power, when the difference was
found to be nearly 4 per cent. The conditions are not, however,
exactly comparable, because—
(1) When running under power the temperature of the piston
and inner surface of the cylinder walls is higher than that of the
jacket water; this would tend to reduce the difference in piston
friction between hot and cold, because the whole temperature scale
is virtually raised.
(2) When motoring, the oil on the cylinder walls was clean,
consequently the piston friction was lower ; under actual running
PISTON DESIGN 239
conditions the piston friction was no doubt about 30 per cent greater
at all temperatures; this would accentuate the difference, and
probably more than outweighs (1).
Dissipation of Heat.—The heat from the crown of the piston
is disposed of—
(1) Through the rings to the cylinder walls.
(2) Through the bearing surface to the cylinder walls.
(3) To the oil and air below the piston.
There is a great deal of evidence in support of the theory that,
in comparatively small engines at all events, the bulk of the heat
passes to the cylinder walls via the piston rings. The author could
cite numerous experiments in confirmation of this theory, but it is
probably sufficient to state that experiments have shown that, when
all transference of heat by way of the bearing surfaces has been cut
off, the temperature of the piston crown is found to be very little
higher. In any case, it is evident that heat can only be transmitted
rapidly to the cylinder walls through that portion of the skirt or
bearing surface which is being pressed hard against them by the
thrust of the connecting-rod and where the oil film is therefore
both thinnest and in most active movement.
The proportion of heat carried away by the circulation of the
air and oil below the piston cannot be very large and need not be
taken seriously into consideration, except in cases where special
arrangements are made to increase these effects.
It is quite clear that the most important consideration is the
transmission of heat from the centre of the crown to the circum-
ference ; once the heat can be conveyed to the circumference,
experience shows that there is no difficulty in getting rid of it. In
order to facilitate the transmission from the centre to the circum-
ference, it is obvious that the crown should be made as thick as
possible consistent with the weight limitation, and the conductivity
of the material should be as high as possible. During the last few
years the use of aluminium alloys has come into vogue for pistons;
not only is their weight about one-third that of cast iron, but their
conductivity is about five times as great. With such alloys, it is
found that the rate of heat transmission is so high that, even in the
case of cylinders developing over 120 B.H.P., there is no need to
make the crown of the piston any thicker than is needed for strength
alone. Recently all aero-engines, and many others also, have been
fitted with pistons made throughout of aluminium alloys. The
objections to an all-aluminium piston are :—
240 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
(1) That owing to the very high rate of expansion with tempera-
ture a large clearance must be allowed; this causes an audible
knock when the thrust is reversed under pressure at the end of the
compression stroke.
(2) Aluminium being a relatively soft material permits of particles
of grit embedding in it, and is therefore liable to cause wear of the
cylinder walls unless the latter have a very hard surface.
(3) Aluminium castings, unless very carefully annealed, are
liable both to grow and to distort, so that yet more clearance must
be allowed on this account,
None of these objections apply when the crown and ring-carrying
portion alone is made of aluminium alloy and the bearing surfaces
of cast iron, while advantage can still be taken of the high con-
ductivity and light weight of aluminium.
P a s s a g e of Oil into the Combustion Chamber.—One
common form of trouble with internal-combustion engines, and more
particularly with those of the high-speed enclosed type, is the passage
of oil into the combustion chamber, where it carbonizes both on the
walls of the chamber and on the crown of the piston, and so gives
rise to detonation and ultimately to pre-ignition, Passage of oil
past the piston rings and so into the combustion chamber is
due to—
(1) The oil is forced up against the rings on the downward stroke
of the piston because the motion of the piston, combined with its
thrust against the cylinder walls, sets up a very considerable hydraulic
pressure and the oil is, so to speak, rolled up against the rings.
(2) The motion of the piston rings in their grooves tends to
pump the oil into the combustion chamber.
In order, as far as possible, to prevent the passage of oil into the
combustion chamber, the following considerations should be taken
into account:—
(1) The setting up of a heavy hydraulic pressure can largely be
prevented by perforating the bearing surface so that the pressure
can relieve itself, and also by freely venting the piston just below
the bottom ring.
(2) As the piston travels downwards the rings are all bearing
against the top faces of the grooves, and the clearance between the
lower sides of the rings and their grooves is filled with oil scraped
from the cylinder walls. As the piston rises again, the rings change
over and bear against the lower face of the groove ; the oil therefore
passes round behind the rings to their upper face and, at the top of the
PISTON DESIGN 241
stroke, when the rings again change sides, some of it is squeezed out.
It will be seen therefore that each ring functions as a valveless oil
pump and tends to deliver oil into the combustion chamber.
In order to reduce this pumping as far as possible—
(1) The rings, with the exception of the scraper ring, should be
made as close a fit as possible in their grooves.
(2) Ample venting should be provided below the scraper ring to
permit of the free escape of any oil scraped off the cylinder walls.
(3) The tendency of the rings to pump oil can further be
checked to a large extent by drilling
holes through the ring groove behind the
ring, thus permitting of the free escape
of any oil as it passes the back of the
ring.
This latter expedient should apply
only in the case of the lowest ring, since
such drilling permits also of the escape
of gas. Fig. 120 shows an arrangement
of rings, &c., which has been found veryFig. 120.—Section of Slipper Piston,
with Scraper Ring vented by
effective in preventing the passage of oil Holes drilled through Groove
into the combustion space.
There is a widespread belief that the passage of oil into the
combustion chamber is dependent primarily upon the pressure or
vacuum in the cylinder, and that, when throttled down, the reduced
pressure in the cylinder during the suction stroke causes oil to be
sucked up past the rings. This belief is founded upon the fact that
when an engine is opened out after running throttled up, smoke
becomes apparent, indicating an excess of oil in the combustion
chamber. Also when an engine has been run with the throttle
nearly closed and the cylinders or valve caps are removed, oil in a
liquid state is then found in the combustion chamber. In spite of
such evidence, however, the theory is quite fallacious, for the actual
quantity of oil passing the rings is found to be a function of the
speed, and of the speed alone, the pumping pressure set up by the
rings being of far too high an order to be influenced appreciably by
any relatively slight differences of pressure in the cylinder. When
an engine is running at or near its full load, the oil passing into the
combustion chamber is burnt along with the fuel; combustion is
nearly complete, so that no smoke is visible from the exhaust.
When running dead light the flame temperature, owing to the large
dilution with exhaust gases and the relatively higher rate of heat
(E246) 17
242 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
loss, is insufficient to burn the oil, with the result that it accumu-
lates in the combustion chamber until the throttle is opened; the
quantity is then so large that there is not sufficient oxygen available
for its complete combustion at first, with the result that it is only
partially burnt and issues from the exhaust as blue smoke—that is,
as partially vaporized but unburnt oil.
In any normal high-speed closed-type engine, about 90 per cent of
the lubricating oil consumed is burnt in the cylinder as fuel, a fact
which should always be borne in mind when reckoning the efficiency
of an engine, for the hourly consumption both of fuel and oil should
be taken into account. In most normal engines the proportion of
oil consumed is very small in relation to the fuel and does not
materially affect the consumption of the latter, but in the case of
certain aero-engines, particularly of the rotating cylinder type, the
consumption of oil is so high as materially to reduce the fuel
consumption, and so give rise to a fictitious fuel economy.
The author has carried out a number of tests in order to ascertain
the influence of both pressure and speed on the passage of oil into the
combustion chamber, and has tried the effect of motoring an engine
and collecting the oil passing the piston under the following con-
ditions :—
(1) When the pressure on either side of the piston is atmospheric.
(2) With a continuous vacuum of 20 in. of mercury in the cylinder.
(3) With a continuous air pressure of 45 lb. per square inch above
the piston.
In all three cases the quantity of oil passed per hour was, within
the limits of observation, the same—certainly to within 10 per cent.
In all cases also the quantity of oil passed by the piston varied almost
directly as the speed of rotation.
In fig.121 is shown a special machine used for testing pistons and
rings for—
(1) Friction.
(2) Leakage.
(3) Passage of oil.
It consists of a water-jacketed cylinder mounted on a crank-
case in which different types of pistons, rings, &c., can be fitted.
The piston is reciprocated by means of a crank and connecting-rod,
and, to ensure freedom from vibration, reciprocating balance weights,
operated by eccentrics, are provided. The cylinder is heat-insulated
from the crankcase and the friction of the piston is measured directly
by the temperature rise of the water in the jacket. In order to
PISTON DESIGN 243
the maximum pressure being about 220 lb. per square inch. Any
leakage past the rings is made up by air entering through the inlet
valve, and the quantity of air so required to make up for leakage is
measured by the displacement of water.
The machine is direct connected to a balanced swinging field
electric dynamometer, and can be driven at any speed from 600 to
2500 R.P.M. The total torque required to rotate the machine at
any speed can be measured direct from the arm of the dynamometer,
while the piston friction alone can be determined directly from the
temperature rise of the water in the cylinder jacket.
PISTON DESIGN 245
Owing to losses by radiation, &c., it is not easy to determine
accurately the absolute friction of the piston, but the relative
friction as between two pistons, or any variations in piston
design or rings, can be measured with extreme nicety by com-
paring the curves of temperature rise of the jacket water.
Figs. 122, 123, and 124 show a number of such curves of tempera-
ture and time and also the total friction of the machine as
a whole in terms of lb. per square inch on the piston, with
various types of piston, numbers of rings, &c.
Fig. 123.—Test Readings with 3 different Pistons. Speed 1200 R.P.M. in all cases
Fig. 126.—Composite Piston with Aluminium Head and Cast-iron Bearing Surfaces
rigidly attached
to keep the latter bearing at all times against one wall of the cylinder.
Others, again, have adopted the method of fitting the gudgeon pin
out of centre in the piston so that the latter tends to tilt about the
illustrated in fig. 128, which shows the position taken up by the piston
at various points in the cycle.
Fig. 128.—Diagram of Forces on Piston with offset Gudgeon Pin, showing effect on clearance
hence the lower the total pressure against and therefore the wear
on the sides of the ring grooves. There, is, however, some evidence
in support of the theory that an excessively narrow ring causes
increased wear of the cylinder bore due to the comparative ease
with which the oil film breaks down during the period the piston is
at rest on top dead-centre,
Radial T h i c k n e s s . — The radial thickness determines the
spring tension against the cylinder walls. So long as this is above a
certain figure there is no object in increasing the thickness, which
merely involves an increase in friction and wear on the cylinder walls.
There is definite evidence to indicate that, when working, the rings
are pressed out against the cylinder walls by the gas pressure behind
them, and that the pressure in the ring groove is on the average
something less than the mean pressure of the cycle. In fact recent
experiments by the Admiralty Engineering Laboratory, in which
indicator diagrams were actually taken from behind the piston rings,
showed that the pressure behind the top ring followed very closely
that of the gas pressure above the piston, while that behind the second
ring showed a very much delayed diagram, and behind the third
and others a more or less uniform pressure scaling down through the
remaining pack of rings. Experience indicates that in a well-made
ring a spring pressure of from 6 to 7 lb. per square inch is sufficient,
and that any further pressure results merely in extra friction without
any compensating advantage. The spring tension required, however,
depends to some extent upon the amount of clearance between the
“ lands ” of the piston and the cylinder walls. It is customary and
proper to make the clearance of the “ lands ” such that they will
not, under any circumstances, touch the walls of the cylinders. If,
however, the clearance is too great, a considerable area of the side of
the ring may be exposed to the full fluid pressure, and, as a result,
the ring may be pressed so hard against the lower face of the groove
that its spring tension will not overcome the friction against the side
of the groove; under these conditions the ring will become locked
and unable to expand against the cylinder walls, with the result
that severe “ blowing ” will occur,
There is also very strong evidence to show that the top land
should always be as deep as possible, in order to provide adequate
protection for the top piston ring. In the designs of piston illus-
trated previously, the top land is in most instances rather too
shallow, due to the fact that the available height from the gudgeon-
pin centre to the piston crown was, in each case, so restricted as
252 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
to render the provision of an adequate protecting land impossible.
C r o s s - h e a d Piston.—All the foregoing remarks refer to the
open or trunk type of piston, and more particularly to that form
of open piston which has come to be known as the slipper type,
a form with which the author has had the most experience.
In the larger sizes of high-speed engine more particularly, the
author prefers to use wherever possible a somewhat different type
which is now gen-
erally known as
the cross - head
piston.
In this design
the two functions
of an open piston
—namely, to act
as a piston proper
and as a cross-
head guide—have
been separated to
a far greater ex-
tent than in the
case of the slipper
type, until it
resembles much
more nearly the
Fig. 130.—Part Section showing Fig. 131.—Section of Piston
Cross-head Piston and Guide usual steam-
engine form.
The piston itself consists of an ordinary flat or concave crown
carrying the piston rings and a plain light tubular stem extending
from the crown of the piston to below the gudgeon pin. The lower
portion of this trunk is surrounded by a steel or cast-iron sleeve,
which embraces and locates the floating gudgeon pin, and constitutes
the only wearing surface. This cross-head sleeve runs in a cylindrical
guide, which is spigoted both into the cylinder and the crank chamber,
or in some cases into the cylinder only, which is prolonged to accom-
modate it, A general arrangement of the piston, cylinder, and cross-
head guide is shown in fig. 130, from which it will be observed that the
crown of the piston serves only to carry the rings and transmit the
pressure down the hollow cylindrical stem to the gudgeon pin. It
does not bear upon the cylinder walls at all, and therefore requires
only just sufficient lubricant to maintain the rings in good condition.
PISTON DESIGN 253
It will also be observed that in this construction the cylinder walls
are cut off from all splash lubrication.
In spite of the fact that this piston is
some 30 per cent heavier than the slipper
type, the total friction is little more than 80
per cent that of the slipper piston and only
about 60 per cent that of a piston of the
ordinary trunk type.
The construction of the piston is shown in
detail in fig. 131, and the photographs repro-
duced in figs. 132 and 133. The cross-head
sleeve is an easy push fit over the lower portion
of the stem, and is held in place by four small
bolts; it is supported by three bearing lands,
one at the middle on the gudgeon-pin centre
line and one at each end.
In ordinary commercial engines this sleeve Fig. 132.— Cross-head Piston
is made of cast iron, but in very high-speed
engines a light high carbon steel sleeve is used. When employing
head guide between the guide and the cylinder, and passes at a high
velocity around the cross-head sleeve; in doing so, it draws a small
proportion of air and oil mist from the holes in the cross-head sleeve,
which are in communication with the crank chamber through cor-
responding holes drilled in the piston stem. The oil issuing from
these holes in the form of a mist is picked up by the rush of air and
sprayed over the cylinder walls while the piston is near the top of
its stroke ; the total quantity of oil drawn out in this manner is
minute, but it is sufficient for the maintenance of the piston rings.
The whole operation is similar to that of a spray carburettor in
which the slots in the cross-head guide correspond to the choke tube,
and the holes in the sleeve to the jets. The control of the quantity
of oil delivered in this manner is governed by the area of the slots
and the size or number of holes provided in the sleeve.
It will be seen that, by this means, the lubrication of the cylinder
walls is continuous, that oil is only supplied to the cylinder walls in
the quantity required by the piston rings, and that oil which has
clung to the walls and become partially carbonized does not find its
way back into the crankcase. The provision in this manner of an
entirely separate system of lubrication to the cylinder allows of the
use of unstinted lubrication to all the other working parts without
the risk of carbonization of the piston or any tendency to smoke;
also, the oil consumption is exceedingly low.
When working with kerosene or high boiling petrols, this type of
piston is particularly suitable, for one of the chief troubles with such
fuels is that they tend to precipitate upon the relatively cool walls
of the cylinder barrel and so to pass down into the crankcase, thus
contaminating the lubricating oil, and cause trouble with the
bearings, With the cross-head type piston, however, any fuel which
may succeed in passing the piston is trapped in the chamber sur-
rounding the cross-head guides, from which it may be drained off
before it can do any harm. The quantity of kerosene which, in
practice, is drained away from this chamber is often surprisingly
great, particularly when working on variable loads, often amounting
to as much as from 4 to 8 per cent of the total fuel consumption of
the engine, or from three to six times the oil consumption,
The advantages of this type of piston may be summarised as
follows :—
(1) The lubrication is under complete control, and is independent
of the crankcase lubrication; consequently the oil consumption,
the tendency to carbonize both the piston and combustion chamber,
256 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
and the risk of oiling up the sparking plugs are all reduced to the
minimum.
(2) The piston friction is reduced to little more than half that
which obtains with an ordinary trunk piston.
(3) Owing to the fact that the cross-head and guide are relatively
cool, and that both are maintained at approximately the same
temperature, a very fine running clearance can safely be used, thus
ensuring silent running.
(4) Since the piston itself does not bear upon the cylinder walls,
an ample working clearance can be allowed without any risk of noise.
(5) The wear on the cylinder walls is reduced to a minimum,
since only the piston rings bear against them and there is no side
thrust.
(6) The gudgeon-pin being short, stiff, and free to rotate, and also
being placed in such a position that it receives very little heat from
the piston, does not wear perceptibly.
(7) The bulk of the heat from the crown of the piston and from
the cross-head guide is utilized to warm the air for the carburettor,
and is not transferred to the crankcase.
(8) All the working parts can be lubricated without stint and
without any risk of excess of oil reaching the cylinder walls; also,
the oil remains clean.
(9) In the event of any fuel condensing on the walls of the
cylinder, its subsequent passage into the crankcase can be prevented
absolutely.
(10) The restricted lubrication to the cylinder walls greatly
reduces any tendency of the piston rings to become carbonized or
gummed up.
(11) There is no tendency for the engine to become “ gummed
up ” when cold.
The principal objections to the use of this type of piston are :—
(1) That it increases the height of an engine as compared with
the use of an open-type piston, by an amount equal to about two-
thirds of the piston's stroke.
(2) That it necessitates an engine designed specifically for its
use, and unless separate cylinders are used it introduces difficulties
in the way of alignment between the cross-head guides and the
cylinder bore. These difficulties are not, however, insuperable, as
is illustrated by the engine shown in fig. 135, which shows the applica-
tion of cross-head pistons in the case of the engines manufactured by
Messrs. Peter Brotherhood, Ltd., for tractors and marine work, in
Fig. 135.—General Arrangement of 4¾" x 5½" 30-B.H.P. Brotherhood Tractor Engine Facing p. 256.
PISTON DESIGN 257
Fig. 136.—General Arrangement (Cross Section), 8¼" x 9½" Single Cylinder. Experimental Engine
(E246) 18
258 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
which the four cylinders and the upper half of the crankcase are
cast in one piece.
(3) That it increases slightly both the cost and weight of an
engine.
These objections are, in the author's opinion, easily outweighed
by the advantages to be gained, more especially in the case of large
engines, such as that shown in fig. 136, or in the case of engines using
kerosene or petrol with a high final boiling point. In any case their
use makes for a higher mechanical efficiency, silent running, and
reduced cylinder wear and oil consumption.
CHAPTER X
ENGINES FOR ROAD VEHICLES
Before dealing with, specific examples of motor-vehicle engines
it will be well to review briefly the duties which these engines have
to perform and to note along what lines further development is likely
to extend.
Some twenty-five years ago the designers and manufacturers of
motor-vehicle engines had need to concentrate the whole of their
attention upon the one crucial problem of producing engines which.
would run for a reasonable period, under wholly novel conditions,
without serious breakdown. This great problem overshadowed all
others, and the rapidity with which, it was tackled and overcome is
one of the great triumphs of modern mechanical engineering. Within
a space of less than ten years the motor-vehicle engine emerged from
the stage of a fickle and wayward, but very fascinating, toy into a
thoroughly reliable machine. Once its reliability had been estab-
lished, and its charm largely exchanged for utility, the subsequent
developments were mainly in the direction of refinement and in-
creased power.
In order to provide a more uniform turning movement, and to
reduce vibration, and therefore noise, the number of cylinders was
increased from one to four and even to six.
The next developments were in the direction of securing greater
silence in operation ; these took the form of improvements in the
valve gear and the elimination as far as possible not only of vibra-
tion of the engine, as a whole, but also of the vibration of the
individual members of the engine.
At the same time the available speed range has steadily increased.
Since owing to the inherent irregularity of torque in any type of
four-cycle engine the speed range cannot usefully be reduced below
a certain minimum, progress has taken the form of extending the
upper end of the speed range. Developments in this direction have
been much stimulated by the method of basing the taxation, of
259
260 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
pleasure vehicles at least, upon the diameter of cylinder used. This
basis of taxation has served well, but would now be more useful if
it were based on the total cylinder capacity.
With the extended use of motor-vehicles for purely utility
purposes, and with the increasing cost of fuel, the most needed
developments at the present time are in the direction of fuel economy,
a direction in which there is still ample scope for improvement.
The motor-vehicle engine of to-day is called upon :—
(1) To be silent under all conditions of operation.
(2) To be self-contained and as automatic as possible.
(3) To have as wide a range of speed as possible.
(4) To accelerate rapidly from any speed; in other words, it
must instantly develop its maximum torque when called upon to
do so, irrespective of engine speed.
(5) To maintain a high torque at low speeds, and to do so without
detonation or “ pinking.”
(6) To be reasonably economical in fuel at all loads, and more
particularly at its average load factor of from 25 per cent to 40 per
cent maximum torque.
The performance of any motor-vehicle engine must be considered
in reference to the vehicle to which it is fitted. We will therefore
examine briefly one specific instance, namely :—
A light pleasure car weighing, fully loaded, including passengers
and equipment, 3500 lb., and fitted with a wind-screen and hood.
We will assume that the transmission gear is of an efficient type,
that the unsprung weight is low, the weight well distributed, and
that the chassis generally is as well designed throughout as the
present state of the art will permit.
Unfortunately, very little accurate data is available as to the
exact power required to propel a motor-vehicle at different speeds
over average roads. Professor Riedler in Germany, and Chase and
James in America, have made and analysed a number of dynamo-
meter tests with the rear wheels of the car resting on rollers, but
these do not always reproduce the conditions exactly. For in-
formation on this point we are compelled to fall back to a large
extent upon tests carried out with accelerometers and upon accumu-
lated experience based upon the known performance of the same
engine, both on the test-bed and on the road—the latter method,
though very unscientific and largely empirical, is probably the most
accurate at the present time. The curve in fig. 137 gives to the
nearest approximation the brake-horse-power required at the engine
ENGINES FOR ROAD VEHICLES 261
Fig, 137.—Power required at Engine Flywheel to propel Car of 3500 lb. gross Weight
on the Level at varying Speeds over average Road Surfaces
curve of the two engines against fig. 137 in the above ratio, as shown
in fig. 141, we find that the two-litre engine will give a maximum
speed on the level of 54·5
miles per hour and the
three-litre of 66 miles per
hour. The margin of
power at any speed over
and above that required
to propel the car on the
level may be termed the
excess power available
for hill-climbing or acceler-
ation.
Figs. 142 and 143 show Fig. 140.—Fuel Consumption at full Torque Pints
the excess - power curves per Indicated and per Brake Horse-power Hour
for the two engines on
the three gears, assuming an efficiency as compared with top
gear of 95 and 97 per cent respectively for the first and second
speeds. Strictly speaking, the relative gear losses will be less in
Fig. 141.—Excess-power Curves for Two- and Three-litre Engines on Top Gear
the case of the larger engine, but the difference is small and hardly
worth taking into consideration. Figs. 142 and 143 show also the
gradient in terms of per cent which the car will climb on each
264 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
gear and the speed at which it will climb it without gain or loss
in speed.
From the curves shown in these two figures it will be seen that
that on a gradient of 6·2 per cent the maximum speed will be the
same on either top or second speed, namely, 45 miles per hour.
In the case of the two-litre engine, the maximum gradient which
the car will climb at a uniform speed on top gear is one of 6 per cent,
on second speed 10 per cent, and on bottom speed about 25·5 per
cent. For maximum speed in this case, gear should be changed
ENGINES FOR ROAD VEHICLES 265
from top to second when the gradient exceeds 4·7 per cent, or when
the speed has dropped to 38 miles per hour.
Fig. 144 gives the rate of acceleration of the car with two-litre
engine, from any speed, and on the three gears, assuming that the
Carburation and distribution are such that the engine will respond
instantly and exert its maximum torque immediately the throttle is
opened—a condition, however, which is seldom reached in practice.
The foregoing curves show the general performance of the car as
regards ultimate speed, acceleration, and hill-climbing capacity.
We have next to consider the question of fuel consumption and
the factors which control it. For this purpose we will assume that
the car will be running always on its top gear, and we will examine
the speed range between 10 and 40 miles per hour, which covers the
range of average speed such a car will maintain. For simplicity we
will assume also that the car is running on a level road, though, in
so far as fuel consumption is concerned, it makes comparatively
little difference whether the road is level or undulating provided the
gradients are well within the limits which the car can negotiate on
top gear and that the average speed is not too low. Although, when
coasting, one does not recover what is lost in climbing, yet this is
very nearly compensated for by the more favourable load factor
when pulling uphill.
Figs. 145 and 146 show the load factor in the case of the three-
and two-litre engines at speeds ranging from 10 to 40 miles per hour,
and the fuel consumption in terms of pints per B.H.P. hour at the
266 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
corresponding load factors and speeds. These figures are deduced
from the mean of a large number of test results upon several engines
Fig. 145.—Load Factor and Fuel Consumption in Pints per B.H.P. Hour when running on the
Level at average Speeds of from 10 to 40 Miles per Hour. Three-litre Engine
Fig. 146.—Load Factor and Fuel Consumption in Pints per B.H.P. Hour when running on
Level at average Speeds of from 10 to 40 Miles per Hour. Two-litre Engine
per gallon for the two engines at average car speeds ranging from
10 to 40 miles per hour.
With normal Carburation the consumption per mile is about
7 per cent greater with the larger engine at an average speed of
20 M.P.H., but the discrepancy becomes less as the average speed
increases. With perfect Carburation and distribution, &c., the dis-
crepancy will become less, and at the higher mean speeds the larger
engine will show, with the gear ratios selected, an actually greater
fuel economy than the smaller one. In either case the larger engine
will, in fact, make a better showing if the road is hilly or undulating,
for it will then be able to negotiate gradients on top speed which,
in the case of the smaller engine, might necessitate a change of gear.
There is another factor which also exerts a still more powerful
Fig. 147.—Fuel Consumption in Miles per Gallon at average Speeds varying from
10 to 40 Miles per Hour
bustion chamber, with the result that the power output and efficiency
are both very considerably greater than that of the average side-
valve engine, particularly so at reduced loads. The details of the
design are shown in figs. 150 and 151, from which it will be seen that
the four cylinders are cast in one block separate from the crankcase
and with a common detachable aluminium cylinder head, the com-
bustion chamber of which is as shown in fig. 150.
The crankshaft is carried in three white-metal lined bearings
and is drilled for forced lubrication to all main and crankpin bear-
ings. The pistons are of aluminium of the slipper type, but having
a complete ring formed at the base of the slippers. The gudgeon
pins float freely, both in the connecting-rods and pistons, and are
272 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
located endwise by means of circlips and washers. The total re-
ciprocating weight of each line is 1·75 lb., while the rotating weight
of the connecting-rod big end is also 1·75 lb. The inlet valves have
a port diameter of 1·4 inches with a lift of 0·35 inch, and the
exhaust valves a port diameter of 1·31 inches with the same lift.
All valves are operated by means of push rods having curved slippers.
Fig. 153.—14-H.P. Vauxhall Engine. Fuel Consumption various per cent of full Load
ENGINES FOR ROAD VEHICLES 275
Fig. 154.—14-H.P. Vauxhall Engine. Indicated Mean Pressure and Mechanical Efficiency
Fig. 155
two sleeves are used, as also the friction loss, which is no small item
and a particularly objectionable one where the load factor is light,
as in a motor-car engine.
In fig. 155 is shown diagrammatically the operation of a double-
sleeve engine, from which it will be seen that the sleeves are actuated
from a half-speed crankshaft connected by short rods to points at
the side of each sleeve.
Figs. 156-159 show various alternative methods adopted by Burt
for operating a single-sleeve valve. The method shown in fig. 156
278 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
is that used in the Picard Pictet cars and is, in the author's opinion,
attractive from a mechanical point of view, but it is necessarily
somewhat costly. In this arrangement two half - speed crank-
shafts are employed and the sleeve is operated from the centre of
Fig. 156.
Fig. 157
Fig. 158.
Fig. 159.
The greater the number of ports the smaller the sleeve - valve
crankthrow for a given area of valve opening, thereby reducing the
over-all dimensions of valve-driving mechanism and height of engine,
but complicating the coring of water-passages in the cylinder cast-
ings and increasing the port cutting time. The fewer the number
of ports for a similar area the greater the valve crankthrow and
282 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
over-all dimensions, hut the coring is simplified with an attendant
reduction of port cutting time.
The maximum inlet opening areas obtainable with various port
settings are given in fig. 161, while fig. 162 illustrates in proportion
several settings. It will be noticed that a “ double purpose ” port—
that is, one which acts alternately as inlet and exhaust—is included in
This gives the maximum throw possible with this type of actua-
tion and may be reduced within limits according to the type of
engine under consideration. Maximum throws for various settings
and engine bore diameters are given graphically in fig. 163.
The valve timing V has now to be settled, and in common with
poppet valves it varies according to the type of engine.
The actual calculation of ports will be best understood by taking
an example. Assume a high-speed engine of 68-mm. bore, the
desired maximum opening area of the inlet ports being 1·0 sq. in.
approximately, so that we have
A =2 inlet x 2 exhaust, for it will be seen from fig. 161 that this
setting gives the required area.
D = 68 mm, + ·2 in. = say 2·9-in. diameter.
C=·575 x 2·9 = 1·66 in., say 1·65 in.
284 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
Fig. 164.
AC= h - 2r,
AD and EB =r,
BC = L - ( l + 2r), z = 90°
Flank angle = X = z
In fig. 165 the crankshaft timing diagram for the example worked
ports are made of equal height. This is made possible by the setting
of valveshaft crankpin in advance of its BDC and in relation to the
crankshaft until the angles x and y are equal. The amount of offset
ENGINES FOR ROAD VEHICLES 287
20
289
girder, while through bolts extend from the cylinder block to the
very bottom of the crankcase, thus forming a structure of extreme
rigidity both as regards torsion and bending.
(3) With a view to eliminating torsional vibration, the flywheel
is mounted in the centre of the crankshaft so that the maximum
length subject to torsion is reduced to about 8 inches. The shaft
is, in fact, made in the form of two entirely separate two-throw
cranks, each provided with flanges between which the flywheel is
bolted. This arrangement, although very unorthodox, proved most
successful, no trace of torsional vibration being observed at any
speed at which the engine could be run.
(4) With a view to obtaining the highest possible mechanical
ENGINES FOR ROAD VEHICLES 295
efficiency, pistons of the slipper type are employed and the cylinder
liners are maintained at a high temperature in order to lower the
viscosity of the lubricant adhering to them. This latter is accom-
plished by isolating the lower part of the liners from the main water
circulation, so that the cooling water surrounding them is left prac-
tically stagnant. For the rest, the use of ball and roller bearings
wherever possible contributed to reducing the friction losses to the
lowest possible limit and at the same time obviated the necessity
for any form of oil cooling—always a troublesome problem.
(5) In order to obtain a high volumetric efficiency the induction
system was divided so as to avoid any overlapping of the suction
strokes. The central pair of cylinders were fed from one carburettor
296 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
and the outer pair from a second and entirely independent car-
burettor. In this manner use could be made of the kinetic energy
of the gases flowing in the induction pipes thoroughly to fill the
cylinders without any risk of one cylinder robbing another, as must
inevitably occur when all four cylinders draw from any one in-
duction manifold, owing to the overlapping of the opening period
of the inlet valves.
The engine has four cylinders, each of 85 mm, bore and 132 mm.
stroke, and was designed with a view to running continuously at from
4000 to 4500 R.P.M. with short periods up to 5000 R.P.M. In order
both to provide structural rigidity and to enclose the central flywheel
the crank chamber is of barrel shape and is mounted in the chassis
by trunnions attached to the sides. The cylinder block consists of
an aluminium casting forming the water-jacket into which loose steel
liners are fitted, with rubber rings to ensure water-tightness. The
cylinder heads are cast in pairs in hard bronze and call for no parti-
cular comment. The valves, of which there are four in number to
each cylinder, are comparatively small with a high lift, and the valve
gear generally is designed to operate at a speed of 5000 R.P.M.
The inlet valves are heavily masked, and by this means it is possible
to employ a comparatively low rate of acceleration and therefore
to use very light and lightly stressed valve springs. The two cam-
shafts are carried in aluminium housings supported from the main
cylinder block at their centre and at either end. They run in plain
bearings with cast-iron floating bushes. The cams themselves are
of very small diameter in order to reduce to the minimum the rubbing
velocity; they are of the plain tangent flank form. The cam
followers are of the plain curved slipper type, with a short straight
push rod interposed between the follower and the valve itself. The
camshafts are driven by means of a chain of spur gears, the inter-
mediate pinions of which are carried in separate spider housings to
permit of the meshing being correctly adjusted,
(6) Experience with bearings, both in actual engines and under
separate tests, had shown that, even under the most favourable
conditions as to lubrication, plain white-metal lined bearings could
not be relied upon for the connecting-rod big-ends, because no matter
how much oil be circulated through the bearings, nor how thoroughly
it be cooled, there was little hope of getting rid of the heat
generated by friction at a rate sufficient to keep the temperature
of the bearing material within safe limits. Further, in order to
reduce vibration and ensure structural rigidity, it was essential
ENGINES FOR ROAD VEHICLES 297
to keep the cylinder centres as close together as possible, and this
limited the permissible width of bearing surface both on the crank-
pins and main crankshaft journals.
In view of these considerations it was apparent that if a con-
tinuous mean speed of over 4000 R.P.M. was to be maintained
some form of crankpin bearing other than a plain white-metal
lining would have to be employed. The choice lay between (a) the
use of a floating bush between the crankpin and connecting-rod,
under forced lubrication, and (b) a roller bearing. Both these
would necessitate the use of some form of built-up crankshaft with
case-hardened crankpins, since neither the floating bush nor the
roller race could be split, nor could the weight of a split big-end
bearing be tolerated. Of the two alternatives the floating bush
would require continuous lubrication under pressure, while the
roller bearing could be used with splash lubrication. Since for the
same and other additional reasons, it was essential to employ ball
or roller bearings for the main journals, the provision of continuous
lubrication under pressure to the crankpins became a very difficult
problem, and it was decided therefore to adopt the second alterna-
tive and employ roller bearings. The method of building up the
crankshaft was another problem, and after much consideration it
was decided to employ a completely built-up crank, consisting of
plain parallel pins on to which the crank-cheeks were shrunk as in
marine and large gas-engine practice.
The crankshafts throughout were made from plain mild steel
with the pins case-hardened. For the connecting-rod big-end
bearing, it was decided to use a double row of short rollers located
in a one-piece bronze cage, while the hardened eye of the con-
necting-rod itself formed the outer race. This is further stiffened
by means of two circular webs. Like the crankshafts, the connecting-
rods are of plain low-carbon case-hardened steel.
Lubrication.—Two oil pumps of the oscillating valveless plunger
type are provided, both of which are operated from one of the idle
wheels of the gear train. One pump draws oil from the oil sump
and delivers it to an oil gallery running the full length of the crank-
case, provided with four jets playing oil on to each of the crank-
throws. The second pump delivers oil under a pressure of about
25 lb. per square inch to the camshafts, the oil being distributed
through the hollow fulcrum pins of the valve rockers ; from the
camshaft casings, the oil drains back by gravity to the crankcase.
Cooling.—The cooling water is circulated by means of a centri-
298 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
fugal pump running at one-half engine speed. From the pump the
water passes around the upper end of the cylinder liners, the lower
parts of which are partitioned off in order to maintain the water
more or less stagnant, and so to permit of the bearing portion of the
liners attaining rapidly a fairly high temperature. From the upper
deck of the cylinder block the water passes to the cylinder heads in
parallel, and so returns to the radiator. In order both to cool the
crankcase and slightly to heat the air on its way to the carburettors,
the air supply to the engine is drawn through the upper part of the
crankcase and around the exposed lower ends of the cylinder liners.
The compression ratio used is 5·8 : 1. It had originally been
proposed to employ a much higher compression ratio, and to run
on a special fuel mixture, but owing to the difficulty of providing
an efficient form of combustion chamber with any higher compression
ratio, and at the same time avoid any risk of the pistons striking
the valves should these accidentally stick in the full open position,
it was considered safer to employ a lower ratio, at which, owing to
the short-flame travel from the sparking plug, ordinary good quality
petrol can be used without detonation.
In general, though the engine is designed throughout to run at
very high speeds, it contains no extremes either of design or material.
The whole of the crankshaft, the connecting-rods, and the gudgeon
pins are of straight low-carbon mild steel. Neither the connecting-
rods nor the pistons are particularly light. The cams are of the
plain tangent flank form, free from any concave surfaces, the accelera-
tion of the valve gear is low, and the valve springs are very lightly
stressed. In short, the engines were designed throughout with a
view to reliability both in manufacture and in running, and an
ample margin of safety provided for.
The performance of one of these engines which underwent pro-
longed testing on the test-bench is shown in fig. 178, from which it
will be seen that a maximum of 129 B.H.P. is reached at a speed of
4500 R.P.M., the brake and indicated mean pressures at this speed
being 124 and 159 lb, per square inch respectively, and the mechanical
efficiency 78 per cent. It will be observed also that the highest
indicated mean pressure was obtained at a speed of about 3700
R.P.M., showing that the combination of induction pipe design and
valve setting was such as to give maximum over-all efficiency at this
speed. With a combustion efficiency of 34·75 per cent this corre-
sponds to a volumetric efficiency at N.T.P. of 80·3 per cent, a figure
which is in very close agreement with that obtained from the author's
ENGINES FOR ROAD VEHICLES 299
The chart, fig. 179, curve A, shows the mean gas velocity through
the inlet valves at speeds varying up to 4500 R.P.M., and curve B
shows the volumetric efficiency which corresponds with these mean
gas velocities allowing for the latent heat of evaporation of the fuel,
assuming that the minimum of preheating were used and that
there were no undue wiredrawing in the induction pipe or car-
burettors, both of which conditions apply in this case. Curve B
is arrived at by calculations such as those given in Chapter II, by
deduction from various test results, and finally by direct air measure-
ments taken on various engines with similar combustion chambers
and similar gas velocities through the inlet valves. The falling off
ENGINES FOR ROAD VEHICLES 301
Fluid Pumping
Speed R.P.M. Losses.
(lb. per sq. in.)
1500 2·0
2000 2·3
2500 2·9
3000 4·0
3500 5·4
4000 6·9
4500 8·6 Fig. 180.—Mean Pressure of Suction Loop for different Gas
Velocities with Normal Valve Setting and Poppet Valves.
Finally, there remains the friction of the bearings and the power
absorbed by the auxiliary drives: these latter consist of a long train
of gears to operate the overhead camshafts, the camshafts them-
selves in plain floating bearings, a large water circulating pump,
two oil pumps, a small air-compressor for fuel supply, and the
ignition gear. No direct measurement was taken of the power
absorbed by these auxiliaries, and in the absence of actual data we
must fall back on analogy from tests on other engines more or less
similarly equipped. From such an analogy it may be assumed that
the loss due to all these sources will range in more or less a straight
line from the equivalent of 3 lb. per square inch at 1500 R.P.M. to
about 5 lb. at 4500 R.P.M.
From the above it will be seen that the total of fluid and frictional
losses may be estimated at—
Total Losses.
Speed R.P.M. (lb. per sq. in. M.E.P.) Observed Losses.
estimated.
Fig. 181 shows in full lines the estimated friction losses as arrived
at in the above tables, and in dotted line, the observed losses as
304 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
arrived at by motoring and by tests with the ignition cut off from
various cylinders. It will be observed that while the general slope
of the curve of mechanical and other losses does not agree very
closely with the estimated curve, yet the mean value throughout
the whole range of speed is in very fair agreement.
A number of readings of fuel consumption using the petrol re-
ferred to—as sample A in Chapter 1—were taken at different speeds
and loads, using in all cases an economical carburettor setting :
that is to say, about 10 per cent weak as against the 20 per cent rich
mixture employed for the attainment of the utmost possible power
output. The fuel consumption readings therefore were taken with
this speed was only 0·48 pint per B.H.P. hour, a figure unequalled
even at full load by any touring-car engine. These figures should
the case of bombing machines, except that the need for economy in
fuel and oil is not so insistent.
Both for bombing machines and, more particularly for com-
mercial transport, reliability is of great importance, and, since the
machines are heavily loaded and fly in a relatively dense atmosphere,
the load factor on the engine is very much higher than in other
types of aircraft, so that the engines are operating under much more
strenuous conditions. Finally, we must consider the seaplane or
flying boat, in which a very high power output is required moment-
arily when getting off from the water.
It is popularly supposed that an aeroplane engine operates
AERO-ENGINES 313
normally at or near its full load, but this is very far from being the
case, for it must be remembered that at an altitude of about 20,000 ft.
the density of the atmosphere is but little more than half that at
ground level, so that, even though the throttle be wide open, the
weight of charge taken into the cylinder is only about half the normal,
and the conditions are very much akin to throttling down to half
torque on the ground, for both the pressures and the heat flow are
reduced to nearly one half. It is only when leaving the ground and
climbing for the first few thousand feet that the load factor is at
all high.
An average modern single-seater fighting machine (1920) will climb
10,000 ft. in about seven minutes, that is to say, within seven minutes
of leaving the ground the machine is in air at an absolute pressure
of only 10·6 lb. per square inch, and the indicated horse-power is
only 72 per cent of that developed at ground level, so that the power
output is very rapidly reduced, even though the throttle be kept
wide open- It is only in the heavy bombing machine and in aerial
transport that the engine is called upon to work “ all out ” at low
altitudes, and therefore under severe conditions as regards pressures
and heat flow.
Discussion still rages as to the lightest form of aircraft engine
consistent with sound mechanical design; and the dimensional
theory has been used and abused to an unwarranted extent. The
dimensional theory is applicable only when all dimensions are
strictly proportional, which they can never be. According to such
a theory the lightest possible engine will be the type with an infinite
number of pistons connected to a minimum number of cranks.
This holds good only so long as small pistons, cylinders, &c., can be
made proportionately as thin as larger ones, which is out of the
question in the sizes in view, and also all the auxiliary structure and
mechanism can be reduced in proportion.
The nearest practical approach to this theoretically ideal form
is the air-cooled radial engine with seven or nine cylinders disposed
radially round a single crank, or double the number round two
cranks. It does not pay to increase the number of cylinders beyond
nine, because they then crowd too closely round the crankcase,
necessitating a larger crankcase and longer connecting-rods for the
same stroke. Though very attractive on paper, this form of engine
has certain inherent defects.
(1) The loading on the single crankpin is excessive, and necessi-
tates very special treatment. Moreover, this loading being due
314 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
almost entirely to centrifugal and reciprocating forces, does not ease
off appreciably as the density of the air is reduced.
(2) The distribution of fuel and air in uniform proportions to an
odd number of cylinders disposed radially is no easy problem.
(3) The valve gear is troublesome, and being so widely scattered
it is practically impossible to enclose or lubricate it.
Apart from its light weight, the fixed radial engine has several
important advantages which go far to balance its inherent defects.
(1) It lends itself admirably to air cooling, since every cylinder
has equal advantages, and all have their combustion heads pro-
jecting well into the slip stream from the propeller.
(2) It is very short, and therefore particularly attractive from the
point of view of rapid manoeuvring.
(3) Its general shape and ease of attachment to the fuselage of
an aeroplane are points very much in its favour.
During the war numerous attempts were made to produce such
an engine, but without much success, owing to the defects named
above, but since the Armistice at least two successful engines of this
type have been produced, notably the Bristol Jupiter engine of
380 B.H.P. and the Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar of 350 B.H.P.
The difficulties as regards crankpin loading and distribution can
both be obviated by the employment of a fixed crankshaft with the
cylinders rotating round it, and by feeding the fuel and air through
the crankcase as in the Gnome, Le Rhone, Bentley, and other engines.
This form was widely used before and during the earlier stages of
the war, particularly by France, For relatively small powers up
to about 200 B.H.P. it is satisfactory, but the windage resistance
becomes very serious and the gyroscopic effect due to the large
rotating mass very troublesome, when the size is increased beyond
this limit. A compromise between these two types wherein both
the cylinders and crankshaft rotate in opposite directions has been
suggested, and several engines have actually been built, notably one
by Siemens and Halske in Germany, and an experimental engine
of about 250 B.H.P. by Messrs, Ruston and Hornsby, built to the
designs of Mr. A. E. L. Chorlton.
After the single-crank radial the next stage is the fan type, such
as the well-known Napier Lion, in which three pistons operate on
each crank, and the Maltese cross type with four cylinders per
crank. It is usual to make both these types with blocks of four
cylinders, making twelve or sixteen in all, though some few examples
have been built with six-throw cranks, making eighteen and twenty-
AERO-ENGINES 315
four cylinders respectively. Figs. 186 and" 187 show the Napier
Lion engine, an example of this type which has proved particularly
successful.
The next type is that in which two pistons are coupled to each
crank, generally known as the Vee-type engine. This type has
usually either four or six cranks, and therefore eight or twelve
cylinders. To the Vee-type class belong most of the successful
engines used by the Allies during the war, and probably also at the
present day, though more recent developments have brought both
the single-crank radial and the straight-line into prominence. The
lightest, the stresses are for the most part simple and direct, and can
be dealt with by simple and direct means; also the auxiliary gear,
upon which the reliability of the engine so largely depends, is reduced
to the minimum. On the score of fuel efficiency it has again, for
equal excellence of design and workmanship, all the advantage,
having only two carburettors and an inherently good form of dis-
tribution, the losses due to defective Carburation and distribution
can, with a given amount of superintendence, be kept lower than
with any other type.
Finally, since the load factor on its bearings is the lowest, less oil
AERO-ENGINES 317
need be circulated for cooling purposes, and consequently less is
thrown on the cylinder walls and consumed. On all these counts,
therefore, the straight-line six has advantages which go far to com-
pensate for the extra material in the crankshaft and crank chamber
as compared with other types. It is, of course, impossible to evaluate
the factor of reliability and to equate it in terms of weight, though,
clearly, reliability is always worth some pounds in initial weight.
Again, in comparing the weights of various engines the efficiency
of the propeller is sometimes overlooked. One of the essential
requirements of any aero-engine is that it shall turn the propeller
at its most efficient speed, and this, in the case of large and heavily
loaded machines, is a comparatively low one. Hence the engine
must either turn at a relatively low speed, 1200-1400 R.P.M.,
or must be geared down, if a high over-all efficiency is required,
Experience has shown that the weight of reduction gearing very
nearly balances the increased weight of engine required to develop
the same power at the lower speed, while here again the factor of
reliability looms largely, since reduction gears, at the best of times,
are a source of weakness, the more so as the ratio of reduction is
increased. If we require the highest over-all efficiency, from the fuel
burnt to the thrust of the propeller, and assume a reasonable
duration of flight, we find that the over-all weight of the power
unit, together with its fuel or oil, becomes, in practice, virtually
a function of the piston speed, and this almost irrespective of
number or disposition of cylinders or of the use or otherwise of re-
duction gearing.
Air- or Water-Cooling.—Here again a great deal of controversy
rages as to which is the more desirable. The water-cooled engine
starts with the heavy handicap of a radiator and water connections,
involving considerable additional weight, and, what perhaps is even
more serious for military purposes, much greater vulnerability; but
against these defects must be offset a very large advantage on the
score of reliability, and the ability, owing to the lower cylinder
temperature, both to consume less oil, to employ a higher com-
pression, and therefore to obtain a lower fuel consumption. It
is not proposed to deal, at any length, with the pros and cons of air-
versus water-cooling, but it is probably sufficient to point out that
the radial engine, by reason of the disposition of the cylinders and its
relation to the slip stream from the propeller, offers the most ideal
case for air-cooling, and, the author is tempted to think, the only
case for it.
318 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
The great virtue in water-cooling appears to lie not so much in
the fact that the mean temperature of the cylinder can be kept
fairly low, though this, of course, is of advantage, but rather
in the fact that water boils at a comparatively low tempera-
ture, and has a very high latent heat, so that in the event of
local overheating due to any cause, the water will boil locally,
and the heat abstraction will be intensified to an enormous
extent. Thus in a water-cooled engine we may safely assume that
under no circumstances whatever (except bad design involving
steam-locks) can any part of the outside surface of the cylinder wall
exceed a temperature of 212° at ground level,
In the air-cooled engine we have no such advantage. Although
by very careful design, &c., the mean temperature of the cylinder
may be kept down to perfectly safe limits, we have nothing but the
conductivity of the metal to ensure against the development of
hot spots., such as are liable to be brought about by slight leakage,
by detonation, or by slight distortion, with consequent increase of
local friction or leakage.
At the best of times, the conductivity of any metal is but a
poor substitute for the latent heat of evaporation of water, and
it can compare only when the metal walls are made excessively
thick, which is impracticable on the ground of weight. While,
therefore, the air-cooled cylinder may be kept cool enough to run
very satisfactorily so long as everything is in perfect condition, it
has not, and probably never can have, anything like the factor of
safety of the water-cooled cylinder.
For military purposes, and more especially for fighting
machines, the advantages on the score of reduced vulnerability,
freedom from freezing, and reduced weight, are all very important
ones and may outweigh the disadvantages of air-cooling, but
it is, in the author's opinion, very doubtful whether air-cooling
will oust water-cooling for commercial or long-distance military
flight.
A great deal of extraordinarily valuable research work on the
subject of air-cooling was carried out during and since the war by
the late Major G. Norman and Professor A. H. Gibson at the Royal
Aircraft Establishment, and some remarkably fine results were
obtained with experimental cylinders, having thin but well-ribbed
steel barrels with very thick aluminium cylinder heads cast on to
them, and with steel valve seats cast in,
By the use of very thick aluminium, which is an excellent con-
AERO-ENGINES 319
ductor, the heat can be spread fairly uniformly over the cylinder
head and out to the deep and thick radiator flanges, with the result
that under normal working conditions local over-heating can be
avoided and results obtained, comparable with those of a water-
cooled cylinder.
The lack of recuperative power, which in the author's opinion
is the weakness of the air-cooled
engine, applies also, though to a
lesser extent, to those water-cooled
engines in which there is a double
metal wall through which the heat
has to pass before reaching the
cooling water.
In fig. 194 is shown a part-
sectioned cylinder block of the
Hispano Suiza water-cooled engine,
in which it will be seen that a com-
posite construction is used con-
sisting of a complete aluminium
cylinder into which is screwed a
steel thimble forming both the
liner and cylinder head, and that
the valves seat directly on to this
steel thimble. This form has
many important advantages from
a constructional point of view,
but it is open to the objection
that the heat has to pass through
two separate thicknesses of metal,
in contact only by screwing,
before reaching the cooling water.
Given good fitting this suffices Fig. 188.—Cylinder Construction used in
the 260 H.P. Mercedes Engine
for the normal rate of heat flow,
but it has a very much reduced margin of safety for dealing with
excessive rates of flow such as occur when detonation is set up, &c.
Cylinder Construction.—In an aircraft engine it is necessary
always to provide some form of composite cylinder construction,
because the limitations of weight deny the use of the normal
construction in which the outer jacket is cast in one with the
cylinder liner and of the same material. Resort must, therefore,
be had to composite built-up forms, and much diversity of
320 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
opinion prevails as to the relative merits and demerits of the
different forms in use.
Fig. 188 shows the cylinder construction used in the 260 B.H.P.
German Mercedes engines such as were fitted to the large Gotha
bombing planes used during the war for long-distance bombing raids.
This engine proved to be quite exceptionally reliable.
Fig. 193 shows the cylinder construction used in the earlier Sun-
beam engines, in which complete blocks of cylinders were cast in
iron together with their cylinder heads and the upper portion of the
water-jackets; to save weight the whole of the sides of the casting
below the valve outlets were removed and replaced by light sheet
AERO-ENGINES 323
both the cylinder liner and valve seats, is screwed directly into an
aluminium cylinder block.
In the Siddeley Puma engine shown later in fig. 204, blocks of
three-cylinder heads, together with the upper portion of the water-
jacket, are cast in aluminium with pressed-in bronze valve seats.
Into these are screwed, for a short length only, thin steel cylinder
barrels. The lower portions of these exposed steel liners are
324 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
enclosed by means of light and very thin die-cast aluminium jackets
which are bolted direct to the cylinder head casting, while the lower
joints consist of rubber-packed stuffing glands.
The form of construction shown in the previous chapter in
connection with the three-litre Vauxhall racing-car engine, has been
used in several experimental aero-engines, and has been adopted
pressed in. This construction is curious, and the author has never
been able to discover for what reason it has been adopted.
In the B.R. 1 and B.R. 2 rotating cylinder engines, fig. 198, the
cylinder barrel consists of a hard steel liner surrounded by a thin
and light ribbed aluminium jacket. The cylinder heads in this
engine are detachable and are of steel, also a curious construction.
In the case of fixed cylinder engines the problem of cooling
326 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
becomes more difficult and resort had to be made to more compli-
cated constructions.
Fig. 199 shows an experimental R.A.E. cylinder for fixed cylinder
air-cooled engines. This consists of a thick aluminium casting with
deep ribs and with steel valve seats cast in position. A thin steel
liner is shrunk in as shown in the photo of the sectioned cylinder.
This proved satisfactory for a time, but contact between the liner
and cylinder body gradually failed, resulting in overheating of the
liner. As explained previously, this form of cylinder construction
was subsequently abandoned in favour of one consisting of an
aluminium cylinder head cast on to a plain ribbed steel barrel.
In the Bristol Jupiter engine shown in fig. 200 the whole
of the cylinder barrel and head are of steel, but a cast aluminium
poultice containing the inlet and exhaust valve elbows and heavily
AERO-ENGINES 327
however, two such engines have been developed, namely, the Bristol
Jupiter and the Siddeley Jaguar, figs. 199-203.
The former is a single crank nine-cylinder engine developing a
normal power output of 380 B.H.P. at 1575 R.P.M. The cylinders
are of 5·75-inch bore with a stroke of 7·5 inch. The normal com-
pression ratio of this engine is 5 : 1, and it will run continuously for
long periods at a brake mean pressure of 109 lb. per square inch with
a consumption of 0·535 lb. of petrol and 0·048 lb. of oil per B.H.P.
328 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
hour, making a gross consumption of 0583 lb. per B.H.P. hour.
The weight of the complete engine is 729 lb. or 1·92 lb. per horse-
power. With fuel and oil for a run of six hours the gross weight
(exclusive of tanks) is 2075 lb. or 5·46 lb. per horse-power.
are taken to deal with the very heavy loading, due to the combined
centrifugal and inertia pressures from the nine pistons and rods all
operating on a single pin.
One of the greatest difficulties encountered with air-cooled
engines is that of dealing with the expansion of the cylinder and the
resulting increase in the valve motion clearances when hot. In the
case of the Bristol Jupiter engine this has been dealt with most
tanks) amounts to 1443 lb. or 6·01 lb. per horse-power. This engine
is essentially a plain and straightforward piece of design, simple
alike in manufacture and in handling.
The engine shown in figs. 186 and 187, also in the sectional draw-
ings figs. 206 and 207, is the Napier Lion. It has twelve cylinders
334 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
each of five-and-a-half-inch bore and five-and-one-eighth-inch
stroke arranged in three groups of four cylinders operating on
factory and reliable engine in the hands of the Allies, and was of
great value, not only on account of its magnificent performance, but
perhaps even more because of its encouraging effect on the moral
of the Allied pilots. Official records compiled in France during
the war show that the average number of hours flown by these
engines between overhauls was 103·2, or very nearly double
that of any other aero-engine used in the British service. This
engine, also, is of interest because it is at once probably the
most complicated and quite the most reliable engine yet built for
aircraft.
Its weight complete with epicycle speed reduction gear, radiator
336 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
23
337
being developed by the Allies, and this and a few other similar
engines in course of development during 1918 bear evidence
that they contemplated paying the Allies the compliment of
following their lead.
A e r o - e n g i n e s for High Altitudes.—As a broad general-
340 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
ization the means of retaining the power output of aero-engines
at high altitudes may be divided into two groups, one in which
the power output is maintained by maintaining, or nearly main-
taining, ground level density of the charge in the induction system,
and the other, in which the density in the induction system is
not so maintained, but the relative power output at the lower
densities is increased by increasing the expansion ratio and so
getting more useful work from a given weight of charge. In other
words, the former system aims at operating with an artificially dense
atmosphere at high altitudes, and the other caters for an artificially
attenuated atmosphere near the ground, advantage being taken of
the lower density to employ a greater expansion ratio and to obtain
thereby an increase in thermal efficiency. The former system affords
a means of maintaining the power output at any altitude at present
attainable, though at some cost in efficiency. The latter provides
only for a limited maintenance of power ; but, on the other hand,
it affords a considerable gain in fuel economy.
In addition to these two general systems there are also certain
possible compromises between the two, which will be considered
later.
With regard to the first method, that of increasing artificially the
density in the induction system, this can best be accomplished by
the use of a turbo-blower driven either mechanically from the main
engine, by a separate engine, or by means of an exhaust driven turbine.
Such a system has the advantage that the full ground level torque
can be maintained at almost any height, for the limit is set solely
by the mechanical strength of the engine and by its capacity for
getting rid of the heat generated in a highly attenuated atmosphere,
It necessitates, however, the use of a variable pitch propeller.
It is possible to obtain, at high altitudes, an actual power out-
put in excess of that developed at ground level, for it is obvious
that if the weight of air per cycle be maintained, the torque
also will be maintained, and since the external resistance to the
rotation of the propeller diminishes, the engine will run at a higher
speed and therefore develop a higher power output, even after
deducting the power required to drive the turbo-blower. Under
such conditions, however, the flow of heat to the cylinder jackets,
&c., is increased, while the capacity of the radiator or cooling fins
is reduced, at all events while climbing, owing to the reduced density
of the surrounding air, and, though the lower air temperature tends
to balance this to a limited extent, it is necessary to provide a much
AERO-ENGINES 341
including that of the reduction gear, is only 880 lb. or 1·68 lb. per
horse-power. The same engine without reduction gear and running
at 1700 E.P.M. develops 480 B.H.P. with a total weight of 720 lb.
or 1·56 lb. per horse-power.. The principal changes which have
brought about this large increase in performance are:—
352 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
(1) The flat poultice-type
cylinder head with vertical
valves has been changed for
an all-aluminium pent-roof
head with inclined valves,
thus giving better cooling,
better volumetric efficiency,
and better thermal efficiency,
and allowing of a somewhat
higher compression ratio
being employed. To this
change therefore is due the
higher mean effective pres-
sure. Fig. 221 shows the
latest cylinder and head
construction.
(2) The one-piece crank-
Fig. 224.—Rolls-Royce “ F ” Engine
shaft with split big - end
bearing has been exchanged
for a built - up crankshaft
allowing of an unsplit big-end
eye for the connecting-rod,
and making possible the use
of a floating bush big-end
bearing, a change which has
made possible the large in-
crease in speed from 1575 to
2000 R.P.M. Fig. 222 shows
the latest design of crankshaft
and connecting-rod assembly.
For high altitude work a
gear-driven centrifugal fan is
disposed in the rear-end cover
of the crankcase, and driven
through concentric gearing in
which are incorporated slipping
clutches to deal with velocity
Fig. 225.—Rolls-Royce “ F ” Engine
changes due to acceleration,
or torsional vibration. The
capacity of this supercharger is such as to provide nearly ground-
level density at an altitude of 12,000 ft.
Fig. 226.—Longitudinal Section of Rolls-Royce Supercharged “ F ” Engine
Facing p. 352.
AERO-ENGINES 353
Fig. 229
short floating cardan shaft which engages with the forward end of
the pinion by means of splines and with the crankshaft by means of
a toothed ring. By this means the correct alignment between the
pinion and the driven member can be maintained entirely inde-
pendent of the crankshaft, see fig. 232.
The camshafts and auxiliary mechanism are all driven from a
single bevel wheel at the rear end of the crankshaft. Here again
this wheel is not mounted on the crank itself but is supported in a
separate bearing. As in the case of the driving pinion it engages
with the crankshaft through the medium of a separate shaft drive,
but in this case the shaft is made of small diameter in order to be
AERO-ENGINES
pistons and induction pipes, while the use of high tensile steel was
entirely banned.
HIGH-SPEED HEAVY-DUTY ENGINES FOR TANKS 365
The standard 150 H.P. type is shown in the photos, figs. 237-
240, and 255, and in the drawings, fig. 241. Six separate cylinders
are employed, each of 5 5/8 in. bore and 7½ in. stroke; the water jackets
are arranged with large openings at the sides, which are covered
366 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
with screwed-on sheet steel doors. This form of construction, in
addition to facilitating the foundry work, allows of the cylinder
centres being brought very close together, thus reducing both the
over-all length, which was very limited, and the bending moment
on the crankcase, due to the two opposing couples formed by each
group of three pistons.
The cooling water is delivered to the bottom of the water jacket
on the side remote from the valves, and the outlet is arranged
between the two sparking plug bosses on the opposite side of the
hard, the carbonized surface resists pitting, with the result that the
seating lasts much longer, and grinding-in is seldom necessary.
(2) The case-hardened stem renders possible the use of a phosphor-
bronze valve guide without risk of tearing or seizing.
The connecting-rods are mild-steel stampings of normal design.
The only point for comment is in the length of the rods, which are
16 in. between centres, giving an 1/r ratio of 4·26 : 1. The principal
368 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
reason for the employment of these long rods lies in the fact that it
was anticipated that a four-cylinder unit of this engine would be
required at a later date, as indeed proved to be the case, and the
shorter rods which it would have been possible to employ on a six-
has the advantage that there is less tendency for oil to leak round
between the bearing shell and its housing, and so insulate the brasses.
The bearings thus dispose of their heat the more readily.
The crankshaft is a mild-steel forging, the principal dimensions
of which are given in the table at the end of this
description. Owing to the restrictions as regards
the length of the engine, the available area of
bearing surface was severely limited, and the diffi-
culty of providing adequate bearing areas was
still further increased by its being necessary to
employ material for the crankshaft of very low
surface hardness and having therefore very poor
wearing properties. In apportioning the bearing
surface between the connecting-rod and journal
bearings in the original design, a higher load
factor was allowed on the journal bearings and
particularly the centre bearing, since this factor
could be reduced, if found necessary, by the addi-
tion of balance weights.
The arrangement for the oil supply to the big
ends is orthodox.
The arrangement of expanded-in tube in the
crank-pin as shown did not prove altogether satis- Fig.Journal
243.—Crankshaft
Detail
factory in service, for it was found that there
was a tendency for the annular space to become choked in course
of time.
The tube was therefore discarded and replaced by the usual
arrangement of two end plugs retained in position by a single
through bolt.
The flywheel is an iron casting 26 in. in diameter, and is bolted
to a flange formed solid with the crankshaft. A Lanchester vibra-
tion damper is attached to the forward end of the crankshaft in
order to damp out any torsional vibration.
In order to allow of the engine operating satisfactorily when
tilted through large angles, the lubrication is on the “ dry base ”
system ; that is to say, the oil supply is not carried in the bed-
plate, but in a separate oil tank. Three oil pumps of the valveless
plunger type are fitted, all three of which are driven from a single
crank-pin, which in turn is driven by the intermediate timing gear
wheel. The general arrangement of the oil pumps and their driving
gear is shown in fig. 244. The centre pump circulates the oil through
372 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
the various bearings, and the two scavenge pumps collect and return
the used oil to the external oil tank. Each of the scavenge pumps
is connected up to one of the small oil sumps which are provided at
each end of the bedplate. The lubrication pipework is shown in
fig. 245, which also illustrates the oil relief valve at the flywheel end
of the main oil lead. In the original design, the scavenge pump
suction pipes were arranged externally on the grounds of accessibility
of the pipe joints, but in the Mark V Tanks, in which these engines
were principally used, the joints were not accessible when the engine
must not fall below 150 B.H.P. at 1200 R.P.M. During this test the
fuel and oil consumption was not to exceed 0·7 pint (petrol) and 0·02
pint (oil) per B.H.P. hour.
(2) The above test to be followed by a run of ten minutes at 1600
R.P.M. and not less than 150 B.H.P.
(3) Governor tests.
376 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
(4) A low-speed torque test, when each engine was required to
develop not less than 55 B.H.P, at 400 R.P.M,
(5) The first engine by each maker and thereafter one in every
for ten minutes at about 400 R.P.M. and no load; after this period
the throttle was to be thrown wide open, when the engine must open
total mechanical losses were found to agree very closely with the sum
of the several detail losses shown in the above curve. Further, in a
few instances, tests for mechanical efficiency were carried out by the
method employed by Morse, of cutting out one cylinder at a time
while the engine is running on full load. These tests also showed
very close agreement. All the test sheets show that the mechanical
efficiency, as arrived at by the motoring test, was remarkably uniform
380 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
over a wide range of engines, a variation of 1 per cent in the mechani-
cal efficiency figure being very exceptional,
Tig. 253 shows the thermal efficiency and the efficiency relative to
the air standard; two efficiency curves are shown—(1) based on the
fuel burnt, and (2) based on the fuel supplied. The efficiency based
on the fuel supplied is calculated directly from the known fuel con-
The following table taken from a sample test-sheet gives the heat
distribution:—
382 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
Fig. 258 shows the installation of the engine in the Mark V two-
star tank, while fig. 259 gives an exterior view. (In this model the
larger 225 H.P. engine was used.)
HIGH-SPEED HEAVY-DUTY ENGINES FOR TANKS 383
Fig. 263. —225 H.P. Tank Engines in course of erection at Messrs. Gardner's Works
393
394 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
withdrawn through the openings left by the removal of the inlet
valves.
Die-cast pistons were used from the very start, and no single
instance of piston failure was ever reported. There being no rigid
restrictions as regards length, more liberal bearing surfaces could
CRANK ANGLE
Fig. 266.—Diagrams showing increase of “ Delay ” Period with increase of Speed
CRANK ANGLE
Fig. 267.—Diagram showing three phases of combustion process in
Compression Ignition Engine
CRANK ANGLE
Fig. 268
unfounded; not only have they been refuted by practical results, but
they appear also to bo based on entirely false premises. Except that
a very minute quantity of vapour must be present to provide the
initial nucleus of flame, there does not appear the slightest ground
for supposing that the rest of the fuel must be vaporized completely
before combustion can take place; on the contrary, it appears far
more probable that combustion actually takes place from the sur-
face of the liquid droplet and that it is fed with fresh oxygen and
the burnt products scoured away by the rapid passage of this droplet
through the air. The really essential condition for high speed being
sufficient relative motion between the drops of fuel and the air—
a condition which can be met either by rapid movement of the fuel
or of the air, or both (provided, of course, their direction is not the
same).
It does appear, however, that for any given fuel the relative
HIGH-SPEED DIESEL ENGINES 405
proportion of the delay period must increase as the engine speed is
raised, that the extent of this period in relation to the rate of injec-
tion determines the maximum pressure and that therefore the
higher the speed, the higher the maximum pressure. In other words,
the higher the speed, the greater the departure from the constant
pressure and the nearer the approach to the constant volume cycle.
A large number of experiments have been carried out at the
author's laboratory during the last eight years with a view to investi-
gating these several stages in the combustion process. For this
Fig. 269
CRANK ANGLE
ROTATION–––––>
is, in the author's opinion, much the more promising of the three;
moreover, it has some very important practical advantages which
will be dealt with later. This principle is shown diagrammatically
in fig, 275.
In the case of Stage 3 the problem is very closely related to that
of Carburation in the average petrol engine; in both cases the aim
is to distribute the particles of liquid fuel uniformly throughout the
air, the chief difference being that in one case they evaporate and
in the other they burn from the surface; but this difference does not
affect the mechanical problem, which remains much the same in
either case,
The three systems referred to above correspond in effect with
three systems of carburation, namely:
(1) By projecting a spray of liquid petrol under pressure into the
air—a method which has been tried from time to time, but never
adopted on any considerable scale.
(2) By the use of a “ diffuser ” jet as in the Claudel type of car-
HIGH-SPEED DIESEL ENGINES 411
burettor—this corresponds to the pre-combustion chamber system
and
(3) By concentrating all the air at a high velocity past the fuel
jet by means of a choke tube as in most ordinary carburettors, this
corresponds with the last system described, namely, that of air
swirl or unidirectional flow.
Yet a fourth principle, and one which does not fall strictly into
any of the above categories, is that known as the Aero system. In
this system practically the whole of the air for combustion is com-
pressed into a chamber, usually in the piston, and communicating
with the rest of the cylinder through a narrow restricted neck. The
fuel injector is so placed that the jet of liquid is aimed at the centre
of this narrow neck as shown in fig. 276.
Fuel injection starts slightly before top
dead-centre and is continued relatively
slowly. Stages 1 and 2 of the combustion
process are enacted more or less inside
the chamber, where the indiscriminate
turbulence is very intense, but since the
fuel injection is timed rather later and
is spread over a fairly long period, very
little fuel has actually been injected
before the piston starts to descend, when Fig. 276
the highly compressed air within the
chamber commences to rush out through the neck. Stage 3 is
therefore enacted outside the chamber under conditions of intense
air flow, for during this stage air is rushing helter skelter out of
the chamber, and in so doing meets the injected fuel, which is
approaching to meet it. The combustion process therefore, during
Stage 3 resembles that of the last system described, but with this
essential difference, that in the Aero system Stage 3 can occur only
while the piston is descending fairly rapidly, that is, relatively very
late, hence the expansion ratio is curtailed, and both the power
output and efficiency somewhat limited in consequence. In the
Aero system it is difficult to determine just where combustion
takes place, but it probably oscillates rapidly about the open neck
of the bulb; the bulb itself is quite uncooled, and since it does not
attain a high temperature, it is quite clear that the bulk of the com-
bustion process must take place outside it and beyond the neck;
on the other hand, as the pressure rises, even though the piston be
descending, there must be reversals, probably rapidly alternating
412 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
reversals, of flow between the bulb and the cylinder, so that some
combustion even during Stage 3 must take place within the bulb.
And now to compare again the conditions as between a petrol
engine and a high-speed solid-injection Diesel engine. Stages 1 and
2 are common to both, with the exception that in the case of the
petrol engine the whole combustion process is consummated in
Stage 2, while the equivalent of Stage 3 is anti-dated, and is enacted
not in the cylinder, but in the carburettor.
In the petrol engine we need indiscriminate turbulence in the
combustion chamber and processional flow in the carburettor, in
the Diesel engine we need both within the combustion chamber itself,
and since the conditions are conflicting, we have to make the best
compromise we can.
In the petrol engine, under all ordinary circumstances, the whole
of the oxygen is consumed, hence the flame temperature is almost
constant at any mixture strength or throttle opening. Since the
flame temperature governs the efficiency it follows that in a petrol
engine the true indicated thermal efficiency reckoned on the air
consumption, as described in Chapter IV, is almost constant, irre-
spective of mixture strength or throttle opening, provided, of course,
that the degree of turbulence and time of ignition are appropriate
in all cases. In the Diesel engine under no circumstances is the
whole of the oxygen consumed, since it is, in practice, impossible to
bring the whole of it into contact with the injected fuel. As the
load is reduced, less and less of the available oxygen is consumed,
hence the mean flame temperature is diminished, and the efficiency
rises. Even at full load, it is extremely difficult to consume more
than about 75 per cent of the oxygen present in the combustion
chamber, so that at all loads the flame temperature is lower and the
efficiency on that account somewhat higher than in a petrol engine
of equal expansion ratio.
In a petrol engine we aim to work at the highest possible com-
pression ratio consistent with freedom from detonation or auto-
ignition under any circumstances. In the Diesel engine we aim to
work at the lowest compression ratio which will ensure auto-ignition
under all circumstances. In the case of the petrol engine and with
the average fuel available on the market we are compelled, except
in the case of very small cylinders, to limit the compression ratio
to about 6·0 : 1. In the case of the Diesel engine, to ensure auto-
ignition without undue delay under the most adverse circumstances
we are compelled to work with a ratio of about 12·0 : 1 despite the
HIGH-SPEED DIESEL ENGINES 413
fact that the heavier petroleum products have a lower self-ignition
temperature than petrol. Between these two limits lies a wide
neutral zone unattainable by either type of engine except by the
use of anti-detonating dopes on the one hand or pro-detonating
dopes or hot plates, &c., on the other hand; all of which expedients
bring in their trail evils greater than those which they are designed
to overcome,
For light high-speed Diesel engines, the use of air-blast injection
may be ruled out as almost impracticable on the grounds of cost,
complication and weight, and one has to fall back on solid injection,
of which three general systems are in vogue.
(1) In which the fuel pump delivers to a small elastic reservoir
in which a more or less constant pressure is maintained and the
timing and to some extent the metering of the fuel is accomplished
by mechanical operation of the fuel-injection valve.
(2) In which the fuel valve is spring loaded, but “ automatic ”
i.e. without any direct mechanical control. In this case we have to
rely on the fuel pump for both timing and metering. In certain cir-
cumstances this system can be employed without any fuel valve at
all, but merely an open jet as in a carburettor.
(3) So-called spring injection, which is really only a variant of
(1). In this system the plunger of the fuel pump is itself spring loaded,
and in readiness to deliver the fuel at the moment when the fuel
valve is lifted mechanically. System 3 in effect, differs only from
(1) in that the pump body itself is utilized as the elastic reservoir.
In the case of System 2, which is by far the simplest and most
generally used, we have to depend entirely on the pump both for
metering and for timing to within very narrow limits, in practice to
within about 5 per cent as to metering and as to timing to within
about 1 crankshaft degree or ½° of pump shaft. Such close limits
can be obtained either by simple design coupled with superlative
workmanship or by more complex design and indifferent workman-
ship, and the choice must lie with the resources available. In either
case the desired result can be achieved, and the above degree of
accuracy as to timing and metering can be maintained.
In all fuel-injection systems the essential features are correct
metering and an abrupt cut off at the completion of delivery in order
to avoid dribbling at the fuel orifice, and therefore the formation
of a carbon crater around the orifice. In the case of slow-speed engines
it is common practice to employ a very abrupt cam acting direct
on the plunger of the pump itself, and timed to give injection at the
414 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
correct moment, the stroke of the plunger being varied by suitable
mechanical means. For obvious mechanical reasons such a system
is not practicable in the case of a high-speed engine, nor is it a de-
sirable one in any case. Almost all the successful fuel pumps for high-
speed engines operate on the following general principle. The
plunger is given a relatively long stroke either by means of an
eccentric or of a cam with nearly constant acceleration, i.e. a har-
monic motion. Of this long stroke a portion only is utilized, namely
that during which the plunger is travelling at its highest velocity,
this portion being picked out either by the use of a “ flash ” or piston
valve, or by poppet valves. In all cases the time of commencement
of injection is maintained constant, and the metering and period of
delivery is controlled by the time of release, which is varied accord-
ing to the load,
In the original experiments at the Royal Aircraft Establishment,
referred to at the beginning of this chapter, the fuel was supplied
under a pressure of some 6000 lb. per square inch by means of an
ordinary plunger pump, and was stored under this pressure in a
small steel receiver. The fuel valve, consisting of a heavily spring
loaded needle valve, was timed and opened mechanically by means
of a cam and the fuel delivered to the cylinder through a number
of fine jets each directed to various portions of the combustion
chamber. This system worked admirably from a functional point of
view, but introduced some rather grave mechanical difficulties,
chief of which were the operation of the fuel valve in so short a
period of time, and under so intense a spring loading, and the ac-
commodation on the cylinder head of the somewhat massive me-
chanism involved. The experiments, however, served admirably
to demonstrate that the operation of a high-speed engine was not
only possible but remarkably efficient. The results obtained at the
R.A.E. in 1922, namely a brake mean pressure of 120 lb. per square
inch at a piston speed of 2000 ft. per minute and a minimum con-
sumption of 0·36 lb. per B.H.P. hour at this high speed, have never
been surpassed. The pioneer work of the Air Ministry was quickly
followed up by Messrs. Beardmore under the guidance of Mr. A. E.
L. Chorlton, who decided to abandon the mechanically operated
fuel valve in favour of an automatic spring-loaded valve operated
by the fuel pressure as is customary in the case of solid injection
engines. In the Beardmore engine, one fuel pump running at engine
speed (instead of half engine speed as is more usual) serves alter-
nately two cylinders. Each fuel pump is driven by an eccentric and
HIGH-SPEED DIESEL ENGINES 415
has a long stroke, only the centre portion of which is made use of.
The timing and duration of delivery is determined by means of a
“ flash ” valve—a quick-moving piston valve which passes over a
port serving alternately as suction or release; thus pressure is created
and delivery takes place only during the period while the flash valve
is passing and so obstructing this port. The fuel valve itself is of the
ordinary differential-area spring-loaded type, and the fuel finally
issues through a number of directed jets as in the R.A.E. experi-
mental engine.
In Germany the Robert Bosch Co., of magneto fame, have de-
veloped and have undertaken the commercial manufacture of an
exceedingly neat fuel pump of the same general type as the Beard-
more; though functionally exactly the same, it differs from the
latter in that the pump runs at half engine speed (for four cycle
engines) hence a separate pump is needed for each individual cylinder,
also the flash valve is made integral with and forms the top portion
of each plunger.
Since the pump operates at half engine speed, and since the
period of delivery is necessarily very short—of the order of 20° to 25°
crankshaft degrees only, on full load, it follows that operation by
a crank or eccentric would necessitate a very long stroke, hence a
cam is used in place of an eccentric giving a total plunger movement
of rather more than double that actually utilized for fuel delivery,
Fig. 277 illustrates the general design and details of the Bosch
pump. It will be seen that the flash valve is flat on its upper sur-
face, but the lower edge forms a spiral; the period of delivery is
varied by rotating the whole plunger, flash valve included, by means
of a rack and pinion; since the top of the flash valve is flat, its rota-
tion does not affect the time of start of delivery, but the spiral lower
edge determines the period and quantity delivered.
The whole pump is extremely neat, simple, and compact, and in
the author's experience behaves admirably, but it will readily be
appreciated that its accuracy both of metering, and of timing, and
its consistency, all depend on a standard of workmanship and a
degree of hardness requiring very special manufacturing facilities
and highly skilled craftsmanship. With such a design of pump there
is practically no scope for adjustment either for wear or even for the
slightest manufacturing error. That, in fact, it behaves so well is
due to the superlative workmanship and material embodied in it.
The Bosch pump may, in fact, be taken as an almost classic instance
where superb workmanship and material permit the use of a simple
416 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
design such as would be impracticable -unless made to limits far
closer than those adopted or attainable by most of the highest class
makers.
The fuel pump designed by the author, and illustrated in fig, 278,
is an example of more complex design for which indifferent work-
manship will suffice. In this pump the plunger has a long stroke,
and may be operated either by a cam or, in the case of sleeve-valve
engines, directly from the beam operating the sleeve drive. Two
cam-operated poppet valves are provided, one serving as the suc-
tion valve only, and the other serving both as a “ spill ” or release
valve and, if desired, as an additional suction valve. The operation
of the pump is as follows. During the outward stroke of the plunger
one or both valves are open and functioning as inlet valves. To-
wards the latter part of the outward stroke the spill valve closes,
but the suction valve remains open throughout, and until nearly
half way up the delivery stroke, when it is closed mechanically;
since the second valve has already closed, the only outlet remaining
is through the fuel valve and into the cylinder. Thus the closing of
HIGH-SPEED DIESEL ENGINES 417
the suction valve determines the start of injection, and from then on
injection continues until the second or “ spill ” valve is opened by
means of a second cam; thereafter and during the remainder of the
delivery stroke of the plunger, fuel is returned to the suction side
of the pump. The closing of the suction valve determines the time
of commencement of injection and is set by adjusting the tappet
clearance as in any ordinary poppet valve gear; in the event of any
Fig. 278
in so far that the release of fuel at the end of the delivery stroke
is much less abrupt in the Bosch pump (fig. 280) than in either of
the others. Fig. 272 shows a typical indicator diagram taken from
the author's pump. It will be noted that the characteristics of the
two pumps are very similar, but that the quick-opening poppet type
spill valve of large area gives a much more rapid “ cut off ” than
does the flash valve of the Bosch pump,
Of the various methods of distributing the fuel within the com-
HIGH-SPEED DIESEL ENGINES 419
bustion chamber the author has
had most personal experience
with that in which an orderly
rotational air swirl is employed,
which method he favours for
the reasons stated previously,
In order, however, to attain a
sufficiently high rotational speed
it appears necessary, in a four-
cycle engine, to employ a sleeve
valve which allows of the in-
coming air being admitted tan-
gentially to the cylinder without
any wire-drawing or loss of
valve area, and it is necessary,
also still further to intensify
the rotational speed by com-
pressing the whole of the cyl-
inder contents into a combustion
space about half the diameter
of the cylinder so that at the
same peripheral speed the rota-
tional speed is doubled or rather
more than doubled. Indis-
criminate turbulence is super-
imposed upon the orderly rota-
tional swirl at the last moment
by the sudden ejection of the
air entrapped between the
piston and the flat portion of
the cylinder head. Thus setting
up a vortex ring. Fig. 281
shows the form of combustion
chamber thus arrived at.
It has been found that the
best results are obtained when
the rotational speed of the air
within the combustion chamber,
as measured by means of an
internal anemometer, is from 9
to 10 times the crankshaft Fig. 279a.—Pump-timing Diagram
E246
420 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
speed, i.e. when the whole mass of the air within the chamber
makes one revolution in from 36° to 40° of the crankshaft, which
corresponds with the full-load combustion
period. With the use of a sleeve valve it
is a very easy matter to adjust the speed
of the air swirl by deflectors placed just
outside the air inlet ports, and once these
are set at the requisite angle the ratio of
air rotation to crankshaft rotation remains
practically constant at all engine speeds
and under all conditions, since, of course,
the entering air velocity increases pro rata
with the crankshaft speed. Once the
desired angle of entry has been determined
CRANK ANGLE
by experiment on the first sample cylinder,
ROTATION––––––> the air inlet passages are thereafter cored
Fig. 280 in the casting to the requisite angle and no
further adjustment is required. Fig. 282
shows the results of a series of experiments on a cylinder of 5½-in.
bore 7-in. stroke, running at a constant crankshaft speed of 1300
Fig. 281
INTENSITY OF SWIRL
AIR RPM.
CRANK RPM.
Fig. 282
BRAKE H O R S E P O W E R
Fig. 284
injection. During this period, Stage 3, the rate of pressure rise can
be controlled by the rate of fuel injection. By careful analysis of
indicator diagrams and by other indirect means it would appear
that from 20 to 30 per cent of the total available oxygen has
been consumed before the fuel starts burning direct from the jet;
there is still therefore some 70 to 80 per cent of oxygen available
of which nearly the whole is swept past the entering fuel by the
rapid rotation of the air. This, then, is the progress of events, so
424 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
far as it is possible to determine, from analysis of indicator dia-
grams, from markings on the piston, and in the combustion chamber,
INCH.
SQ
LBS PER
CRANK ANGLE
Fig. 285
and from its logical reaction to changes in the rate of swirl, rate of
fuel injection, position of fuel injector, &c.
With such a method it is possible to utilize nearly 80 per cent of
LBS PER SQ INCH.
CRANK ANGLE
Fig. 286
speed of 750 R.P.M. and developing 175 B.H.P. In fig. 283 is shown
a graph of the performance of an experimental single-cylinder engine
of 5½-in. bore and 7-in. stroke, running at a normal speed of 1300
R P.M., and developing up to 33 B.H.P. at this speed. This engine
is completely self-contained, and drives all its own auxiliary gear,
so that the performance is absolutely net. The maximum B.M.E.P.
at 1300 R.P.M. is 119 lb. per square inch, corresponding to an indi-
cated mean pressure of 141 lb, per square inch. The minimum
consumption per brake horse-power hour is 0·354 lb. of commercial
Shell Diesel oil of specific gravity 0·875. This particular engine is
426 THE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE
fitted with adjustable deflectors to control the rate of air swirl, and
the figures given are taken with a rotational swirl of 14,000 R.P.M.,
or about eleven times that of the crankshaft speed.
Fig. 284 shows a similar graph of performance of another single-
cylinder experimental engine of the same dimensions but designed
for higher speeds, the normal crankshaft speed being 2200 R.P.M.,
corresponding to a piston speed of 2570 ft. per minute, at which